Acheron: Originis
by Yami Nocturna
Summary: A simple encounter started their destiny. In the dazzling world of golden sands and silver marble they loved, hated and died. Their souls a firewood burning until becoming hollow. Their trap known as dreams lured them to inferno.SereAtem.HotaBaku YGOSM
1. Part I: Innocence: Prologue

**_17/07/2010 – _**_Here you go, the prelude to Acheron: Infinitas, since both stories take time in different lifetimes, it is the best to write them at the same time. Pairings as follow: Atem/Serenity. Thief King Bakura/Hotaru. Neptune/Uranus. Jounoochi/Mai. Mana/Mahaad. And at the moment Seth/Kisara. One sided Rei/Seth. Honda/Anzu._

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**A.c.h.e.r.o.n: O.r.i.g.i.n.i.s**

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**Part I: Innocence**

**Prologue**

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_The innocence that feels no risk and is taught no caution, is more vulnerable than guilt, and oftener assailed.  
~ Nathaniel Parker Willis_

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_"Atem..." whispered the golden haired queen solemnly. Her husband turned to her. On his face was written the same grief that has long since made way upon the queen's face. The Pharaoh sighed and went forth to her to embrace._

_"Is this the end?" he murmured forlornly, burying his face into her shoulder. The lightning outside his palace struck once more. The ground shook once more and they broke apart._

_"I fear that this will be the last time we shall meet. The Death Busters threat has grown too powerful, I will not be able to aid you here," Queen Serenity's face fell. Was she also doomed to the same fate as her mother? To die protecting her kingdom? To leave her beloved ones behind?_

_"As much as it paints me to say. I don't think either of us will be able to survive this test," as hard as Atem tried to hold his voice steady, it still broke, "I don't want us to die separated once more." His blood red eyes met with the sky blue ones of his beloved. She was already crying._

_"So many years we spent apart, and even after we married once more, so much time was spent to recover what we once cherished. All because of our foolishness and unwillingness to let go of the grief," whispered the young queen desolately. Tears began to form in her eyes. "And now we have no choice but to die defending our kingdom. And I won't be even able to see you in the moment of my last breath." And she broke down crying, Atem felt his resolve shattering. They had long since decided that if it came to that, Atem would stay behind with his own plan of sacrificing his life to seal away Zorc, at the cost of sealing himself into the Shadow Realm, never to pass onto the realm of the afterlife. And Serenity would seal away the Death Busters that had taken control of her twin, in that last leap of faith, to save the future from the Silence she would throw away her life to the Silver Crystal to save the universe._

_"Let us not break our resolve," whispered Atem breaking away from Serenity, wiping away her tears, "The longer we spend on lamenting our demise, the less chance that we will save our kingdoms." Serenity nodded in pain, as she turned away, but as her shoulders shook, Atem knew that she was still crying._

_"Goodbye, Serenity," he whispered, kissing her shoulder._

_"No..." she whispered, "not goodbye, I promise you, I will find a way to come back in the future and save you from the Shadows. We will be together."_

_"I hope so... I hope so..."_

_And as she turned around to kiss him for the last time in this lifetime of sorrow and pain, she started to fade away, her own magic working on the teleport to her own kingdom, which was under a terrible siege._

_And the pharaoh strode out of his chambers, to meet the terrible dark god who plagued his kingdom, head on. The knowledge of the fact that they would die separated by thousands of miles weighing heavily upon his heart._

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"Atem! Atem! Where are you?" the raven-haired girl ran through the white halls of the palace of Kemet. Behind her followed a girl with blonde hair and tan skin. These were the two apprentices to the Priests in Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen's service. The girl who was running behind the raven-haired one, was Mana, favourite student of Mahaad, one of the best mages in Kemet. She was still just learning, but already was making great progress.

The other girl went in Kemet by the name of Isis, though her true name was Rei, Princess of Mars. She was one of the ambassadors from Silver Alliance to Kemet, a priestess under the tutelage of the current owner of the Millennium Tauk. Thus she was meant to be Prince Atem's future councillor, and contradicting the most rules about councillors serving only one ruler, she was also meant to be the future guardian of Princess Serenity.

In the name of alliance with Kemet, who harvested the vast powers of Shadow Realm a deal was made between Queen Selenity and Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen. A long time ago Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen had come to Queen Selenity requesting for her guidance. He had feared the Shadow Realm would be too dangerous to control. Against the better judgment of his priests, he decided that he knew only one race, so pure that no murder existed in their blood, and that race, more precisely their queen, could offer him a sound word of advice. And so he spoke his fears and asked for the silvery-haired ruler's guidance. After days of consultation with the Silver Crystal, Selenity finally agreed to guide and consult the Pharaoh, who was so concerned about his kingdom, that went against his advisers wishes to speak with the beings from heaven, who did not honour their gods. And so the first alliance between a kingdom of Earth and the Silver Alliance came to be.

Under the contract between the two kingdoms, Rei, Princess of Mars, who demonstrated great mystic potential spent each year six months in Kemet, learning the secrets of the Millennium Spellbook and the Tauk, possibly to be the next Priestess, once the current one, Priestess Hatshepsut would step down from her duties. Of course the princess of Mars would never be able to stay forever in Kemet, as by Princess Serenity's ascension she would have to leave Kemet, to stay mostly by her side. And that is why four women were selected by the queen, for them to become the Guardians of Shadow Realm. Their titles would be that akin to the Sailor Soldiers of the Solar System, but they would never be true Sailor Soldiers, as a Sailor Soldiers' power came from a star or a planet. But nonetheless the girls would receive training.

Two girls were selected from the Moon Kingdom and two girls from Kemet. One was from a distant line of Venusian royalties, Mai Valentine, Sailor Tori. The girl with the spirit of a winged beast by the name of Harpie Lady. She had golden blonde hair, the same hue as the Princess of Venus had, yet her eyes were violet, so unlike the blue eyes of the Venusians. That was the drop of Saturnine blood in her speaking. The other was an orphaned Lunarian girl, Kisara, the one who by Priest Shada's words, possessed one of the mightiest beats of the Shadow Realm, the Legendary Blue Eyes White Dragon. Appropriately she was named Sailor Hakuryuu. Her hair was white and her eyes pale blue with hints of silver.

The other two girls were unlike their pale and fair-haired comrades, tan and with dark brown hair. One was Anzu, a girl picked up from a very distant village in Kemet. She was very friendly, and had her hair cut straight at the shoulders, with dark blue eyes. Her spirit Daeva although not as powerful in attack terms as her the ones her comrades wielded was very powerful on defence, the Forgiving Maiden, a fairy Daeva. And according to that attribute Anzu was called Sailor Sennyo. The last girl was the same girl who was following, Princess Mars, also known as Sailor Mars. Mana was the last of the chosen Guardians and she was called Sailor Mahoutsukai. Her spirit was Dark Magician Girl. At first Mana's hair had been dark brown, but when she tapped in the first time in her spirit fully, her hair faded over time to the blonde hair, she had now.

And the same as Princess Rei, the Sailor Guardians of the Shadow Realm spent half of the year on the moon, training under the Outer Soldiers, Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune, older than them by three years. The other half of the year was spent in the kingdom of golden sands, learning the intricate knowledge of the Shadow Realm. And now the time had come for Princess Mars and Mana, alongside with the Guardians of the Shadow Realm to leave once more to the Moon, to continue their training. But this time around, along with them was going Prince Atem of Kemet, to meet Queen Selenity and her daughter Princess Serenity.

The search for Prince Atem ended in the throne room, where the fifteen-year-old prince, stood prim and proper before his father, who was instructing his son. The prince had blood red eyes, tan skin and black hair, which spiked up in all directions. His hair had red tips and his bangs were golden. This was considered a sign from the three most powerful god Daeva, appropriately named by the names of the Gods of Kemet, that they had accepted him as their next true ruler. Golden was for the Winged Dragon of Ra, red for The Sky Dragon of Osiris, and black for Obelisk, The Giant God Soldier.

"Ah, Princess Isis, Mana," spoke out the pharaoh, the two girls respectfully bowed to the ruler, in this land nobody called Princess Rei by her given name, instead they called her by the second name, which had been given to her to honour Isis, the goddess of magic and mystical powers, in Kemet. Although nobody ever called her Priestess Isis, for it would have been lack of manners, towards her divine heritage of Mars Royal Line.

"You are ready to leave now?" at the Pharaoh's question the two girls nodded and Rei answered: "The Gateway had been prepared. We may leave at any time, if Prince Atem is ready."

"He is. I had just given him my last words, and a gift to pass on to Princess Serenity. She is fourteen now? The age when a girl starts to mature into a lady?" inquired the pharaoh, ignoring the furious flush on the prince's face. Rei nodded, "Yes, a couple months younger than me. If I am not wrong, her birthday will take place exactly during the New Year, the first day of the first month of inundation this year." The pharaoh smiled at that and looked sternly at Prince Atem then.

"I would advise you to pay proper respects to Princess Serenity then. Even the star Sopdet is giving you a sign to not prejudice her the same way you do the other Princesses. As I already spoke, in spite of your stereotype of noble women, she is not like them." At that moment Princess Rei and Mana fumed. They all knew too well, Atem's prejudice against noble women. Of course it didn't extend to Rei, as he had met her when he had been just five years old, but against the other royal and noble women he had a position of strong dislike. Of course, they could understand the young prince, even since he had become ten, all kinds of nobles were swarming the palace, acquainting him with their daughters, some where even eighteen back then, whole eight year older than the prince. And of course they desired only power. Even princesses from other countries thought of Atem only as a means to even more power. It was Princess Rei, who spoke:

"Prince Atem! I'm sure you'll change your opinion after meeting our princess. She is gentle and friendly to all. It doesn't matter to her whether you are a prince or a thief. Her heart reaches out to all," the raven-haired girl's voice became soft as she continued fondly speaking of her friend, "It is a kind of radiance, that once you meet you never forget."

"I'll believe it, when I see it," snapped Prince Atem, earning an angry gaze from his father, the pharaoh thought to give his son another lecture on proper behaviour, but Mana spoke: "Pharaoh, let the Prince stay with his opinion for now. I am sure it will change when he will meet the Princess."

The pharaoh was silent for a moment and then nodded, "Well off you go. We will meet in half a year. I hope the Crown Princess shall grace Kemet with her presence for Prince's birthday."

The three teenagers nodded to the pharaoh and exited the throne room. No sooner than they left, the younger twin brother of the pharaoh emerged from the shadows. The two were almost similar, although the younger twin looked much older, due to him dealing with the Shadow Realm.

"The Prince is not happy. You have him a ring to gift to Princess Serenity," spoke Priest Akhenaden. The pharaoh nodded, a small smile playing upon his face, "There was a prophecy at the birth of the twins, that the one with golden hair would fall in love with the Golden Prince."

"It could also be Endymion, Prince of Elysion, the wielder of the Golden Crystal," replied Akhenaden sceptically.

"But it was also spoken that the child of light would fall in love with the Golden Prince of Darkness. And if Atem is to be my successor, he shall also wield the powers of the Millennium Items. In fact, I will start his training after he returns."

The priest scratched his beard, "Does the Queen know of your intentions?"

"Of course Selenity knows. But in the end it will be up to Atem and Serenity to decide, whether they want to be engaged or not. I surely hope they will," the pharaoh, who had dropped the mask of regency, after his son had left, laughed heartily, "Think of the grandchildren. They will be so cute. Serenity is maturing into a fine lady."

"Don't get your hopes up so soon. You know your son's opinion of royal and noble women," muttered Akhenaden as he turned to leave.

"And you know, that just like her mother, Princess Serenity possesses the unique ability to change people for the better."

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It had been two days since the proud Prince of Egypt arrived in the Moon Kingdom. He had yet to meet some princesses, including Princess Serenity and Princess Hotaru, daughters of the late King of Saturn, Thanatos, and Queen Serenity. The two princesses were according to the Queen Selenity, to whom he had taken an immediate likening, were on the distant planet Mau, one of few ancient Kingdoms remaining from, what the Moon Kingdom called, the last great Sailor War..

His days at this pristine white palace were calm and almost boring, if it weren't for the strenuous training he underwent along with the Soldiers of Four Guardian Deities, Princesses of Mars, Jupiter, Venus and Mercury and Guardians of the Shadow Realm, Mai Valentine, Kisara, Mana and Anzu. The princesses of Neptune and Uranus were very strong and formidable opponents; he grew to respect these two warriors from the outer Solar System. Although his fiery temperament often clashed with Uranus and Jupiter, overall he liked these two.

They were very unlike the noble women he met on earth, who were only concerned with their appearance and beauty, makeup and parties. These two paid a great deal of respect to their training. Also Princess Makoto of Jupiter really liked cooking and gardening, something that surprised Atem a lot, when he had once ventured to the kitchens and found Princess Makoto baking something really delicious. As a Prince he could at most bake himself some meat over a fire, something he learned during his military training, so it was strange to him, to see the tall princess alone in the kitchen the previous, making something.

"_Serenity is returning tomorrow. I want to bake her something. She enjoys my cooking the most."_

Princess Michiru of Neptune, although earned his respect for her supreme magic and battle skills, was one of the two princesses he still had to make up his mind about. She along with Princess Minako of Venus, sort of reminded him of the noble women and then again they didn't. Princess Neptune was very refined and graceful, which reminded him a bit of his mother. But she was in no way haughty and never thought about parties, in fact as far as he noticed, she had many admirers. Many were very powerful men but she graciously refused each of their advances. In fact he doubted if she was in the least interested in men, and she **did **spend a lot of time with Princess Uranus.

Princess of Venus was another story altogether. She was beautiful and very concerned about her appearance, but at the same time, she never acted as if she was above the other people. Honestly speaking, she was very light-headed and the only time he saw a serious expression on her face, was when she trained. According to what Isis, or Rei, as they called her here, told him, she was the leader of Soldiers of Four Guardian Deities, the head of Princess Serenity's guard.

The last one was unlike anyone he met down on earth. On earth women rarely bothered with learning, even if they were given the chance, preferring household duties, but Princess Ami of Mercury was an absolute bookworm, even more than Mahaad was. If she wasn't training, she was always away in the library learning more and more each day. She was shy and timid and rarely spoke angrily. The only one time he heard her like that, when Minako had accidentally dropped a whole bookshelf scattering all the important documents.

There were two more Sailor Soldiers, one was the twin of Serenity, Sailor Saturn, Princess Hotaru and one, which Queen Selenity told him, he would probably not meet, as her duty was to guard the doors of space and time, Sailor Pluto. At one point Atem asked whether Princess Serenity was Sailor Moon, having made the connection, but Queen Selenity gave him a very weird stare and then gave a very cryptic warning.

"_It is said that the Princess of the Moon will become Sailor Moon only under the mot dire circumstances, when our peaceful ways simply won't be enough to stop a catastrophe. I hope that this time will never come. Because that would mean, that an era of distraught and war would come."_

Thus Atem was only even more affirmed in his belief, that Serenity would be spoiled and unlike the Sailor Soldiers who were taught to battle. She would probably be a wimp and somebody who would never understand the hardships of battle. And father even gave him this stupid ring. Atem was not an idiot, his father probably planned to engage him to the princess. A frown grazed his lips, as he angrily stormed through the corridors, hoping to get sooner to the training room, to take his mind off of this ordeal. So deep within his thoughts he was then he never noticed a girl dilly-dallying in the hallway, and it was no wonder when he crashed into her and both fell on their butts and blinked in surprise as they stared at each other.

"Oh dear Selene, I am so sorry, I always get my head up into the clouds," started the girl speaking frantically as she stood up and straightened her simple blue dress, "Momma always says I should be more graceful and control my daydreaming. But I can't help it. Each time I see the Earth in the sky, I just can't help but stare. I want to visit the Earth, it is so beautiful." Atem blinked wordlessly at the strange girl, who still continued apologizing and bowing her head to him in apology. His eyes travelled to the window near which they crashed and sure enough in the sky hung the blue-green planet, which was the Earth.

"That blue planet of hope and possibilities," the girl sighed and Atem turned his gaze back to her. The girl had long blonde hair that was in a single ponytail. Her forehead was covered by a thin white bandana, tied at the base of her head. She had bright blue eyes the same colour as the oceans. "The resonant sound you don't get on the moon. The wide sea. The green wind. I hope someday I will be able to visit the Earth," a forlorn sigh escaped her lips, a soft content smile appeared on her face.

The young prince suddenly started laughing, as a strange thought came to his mind. The girl blinked at him in surprise. The prince clutched his stomach, still sitting on the ground. "It's just that..." he forced out between laughs and chuckles, "you're the first person here, who after _offending _me didn't start apologizing like crazy, and begging for forgiveness," the prince laughed some more, and in a simpering voice parodied some of the nobles, "_Oh my, Prince Atem, Your Highness, forgive me. I beg for your eternal forgiveness. Have mercy on my soul._"

"Prince Atem?" the girl gaped, and flushed suddenly, "Forgive my rudeness. Should I help you up?" she inquired politely, but she never simpered like all those jackals who tried to suck up to him. He broke out in laughter once more causing the blonde girl to flush in embarrassment.

"No, not needed. Your attitude is..." he looked into her ocean blue eyes, searching for the appropriate word, "refreshing." For a second his cheek heated up as their gazes clashed. He stood up, straightening his royal attire and as the girl examined him, she smacked her forehead and giggled sheepishly.

"I am sorry, Prince Atem. I should have recognized this attire immediately. The attire of the Crown Prince of Egypt. It embarrasses me, but I am always daydreaming when Ami tutors me about the Earth. I just dream about visiting it. I have never done it before," again a faint blush covered her cheeks as she looked down, twiddling her fingers, a gesture which Atem found infinitely cute and adorable. He stared transfixed at the shy girl for a moment, and then shook himself out of the stupor.

"The moon is also gorgeous," he replied smoothly.

"But not as beautiful as Earth. I am happy though. Mother told me that in half a year I will come to Earth along with Rei," she spoke. Then something clicked in Atem's head. Ami tutored this girl? That would mean that she couldn't be one of the servants, nor could she be one of the nobles. And if she were to come to Earth in half a year, that would only mean... his breath caught in his throat as he stared in shock at the cheerful golden-haired princess.

"You must be..." he choked out, and the girl flushed once more.

"How silly I am," she spoke apologizing, and curtsying, she said, "I am Princess Serenity of the White Moon Kingdom, the heir to the Silver Crystal. I apologize for not being here when you arrived," she looked up at him and a mischievous smile graced her lips, "Rei told me a lot about you. I hope your stay hasn't been boring here." She paused as Atem shook his head wordlessly, admitting that he had been a bit bored out of his mind would be not proper, yet she just laughed, "You can speak freely to me," Serenity straightened up and took a step closer to him, leaning over she whispered into his ear: "I know that it can be boring here, so if you're bored you can always come to me. We'll find something fun to do. After all, if we're royalties, it doesn't mean we can't enjoy ourselves."

A small smile crossed his face, perhaps he would not regret meeting this princess, "Okay. Then let's have some fun."

"Yay!" explained the princess jumping up and down, "I propose we go to the city. But we need to disguise ourselves. This game is called, evade the public attention and fool the palace guards. And under no condition get caught by Luna!"

"Luna?" asked Atem inquiringly.

"Yes. A very sneaky and strict cat!"

And giggling all the way, Princess Serenity grabbed Atem's hand and started running off in some location, dragging him behind him all along. And for a second, Atem did not regret having to give this girl that ring, which could have a double meaning in a few years. If she would stay the same... then perhaps he could become her friend.

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**End Prologue**

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**_17/07/2010 – _**_So, what do you think of this? Just some minor explaining. The Pharaoh, Atem's father, doesn't know how the Items were created, nor does Atem know. But the pharaoh suspected that the Shadow Realm hosts some terrible powers, dark powers, which he fear cannot be controlled, thus he went to Selenity. The moon is currently making an alliance with Elysion, with Kemet the alliance had been established, since they went out of their own free will and Ginzuishou decreed so, for reasons unknown even to Queen Selenity._

**_EDIT: 02.07.2013 – _**_Changed mentions of Shadow Realm monsters to Daeva, which is their name in the Ancient Times, Snehsi to Soldier, removed Japanese and switched it to English._

**_Please review if you liked it. Offer some criticism and whatsoever. It would be really nice if I'd get at least ten reviews. I know that people read my stories, but, it's not hard to pres the rewview button. Gives me more motivation to update_**


	2. 1: Shadows of the Outside Moon

**_12/11/2010_**_ – Mwhahahaha, I've decided to slack off from my work some more and work on the next chapter of Acheron: Originis. Last time the princess of the moon dragged our beloved Egyptian prince into an adventure. So here you go, lots of Atem/Sere interaction. I've decided to make most of Atem/Sere first baby-steps towards their relationship, since starting next chapter the many storylines of the characters will need to start connecting. So please enjoy._

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**_Thank you for favouriting, adding to alerts and reviewing: ShadowsOfTheHeart _**_(I couldn't manage right away, cause you know, life/work/and other stuff like that, but I still try to update as often as I can, so please enjoy)**, smfan **(thank you)**, Samseesstars **(hah, as you see, it is not a one-shot, because it is tied with the Acheron series. Feel free to read Acheron:Infinitas, which takes places in the modern times), **Hotaru88 **(cute? I'd bet everyone who knew me IRL would be surprised I can be cute and dear)**, Spirit of the Dead **(well, english is not my native language, so I can't be really perfect)**, Failisse **(well, it is sort of harder to update it, compared to Acheron:Infinitas, because while the other one follows the YGO timeline, with deviations, here I have to pla everything carefully out and not to forget any details or meetings, which would affect the character in the future)**, SoccerNavyBrat02 **(thank you)**, Alycee Lanet**(thank you)**, Luminia **(yes, Luna is an evil kitty cat. She'll have a riot when she finds out about Serenity's escapade in the next chapter)**, mian-mian**(thank you)**, Sesshy's Mistress **(I'm glad it brought you joy), **brittanyann200242**, **IsisMoon, kyuuo, nightqueen666, PokemonKnight, XXThe wish GranterXX, beth200000, Ensign-Terra-Yamato, Kuroppoi Kitsune, Moon Mage Goddess**_

_Pairings as follow: Atem/Serenity. Thief King Bakura/Hotaru. Neptune/Uranus. Jounoochi/Mai. Mana/Mahaad. Seth/Kisara. One sided Rei/Seth. Honda/Anzu. One sided Anzu/Atem._

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**A.c.h.e.r.o.n: O.r.i.g.i.n.i.s**

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**Part I: Innocence**

**Chapter 1**

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"_A meeting is an event where minutes are taken and hours wasted."_

_~ James T. Kirk_

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The moon was always regarded by the humans as a cold and distant place, where eternal beings benevolent but too superior lived. Most of the humanity did not enjoy the ever-watchful eye of the Silver Alliance which surrounded them. When the Queen of the White Moon made an alliance with the Pharaoh of Kemet the dissonance in the humanity only grew. While the desert nations supported the old king's decision, the other nations, who knew of the involvement of Kemet with the dark magic, deemed them traitors to the Earth, who joined in arms with the witches from beyond the skies.

Of course, most of the humanity revered the Queen of the White Moon, for she was a beacon of hope even for those who disliked the Silver Alliance. Everyone knew of her unfathomable mercy and the power to forgive even her enemies. Precisely that was a reason, why most kingdoms and their reigning monarchs felt threatened by the Moon Kingdom. They didn't doubt for a minute that the Pharaoh of the Shadow Sorcerers would try to make further use of the alliance with the Moon. And what better way than to wed his son to the princess. And that was a reason why other monarchs feared that possibility even more. The Golden Kingdom of Sands was a powerful force to be reckoned with, and with the addition of the White Moon Kingdom's forces they would be unstoppable.

And for a while they were able to pressure the aging ruler of Kemet to not consider engaging his son to the daughter of the moon early on. Reason: the Bloodletting Prince, well King at that time. The King of Saturn Kingdom, the Prince Consort of the White Moon Kingdom and the King Regnant of the Silver Alliance. His name was feared even more than the Millennium Items and the Three Legendary God Daeva(1) of Egypt. For he had no mercy. He had no sympathy. And if he warred, in his stead only ruin and destruction remained.

And so… no one asked for the hands of the two princess of the moon for a very long time. Until that summer came, where a terrible demon got loose. The demon awoke a queen slumbering on the dark side of the moon. The Dead Moon Kingdom rose from the darkness and the first civil war on the moon occurred. In the massacre under the capitol of the White Moon, the Bloodletting Prince fell. And the power-hungry monarchs of the earth breathed in relief. They didn't fear an invasion from the Moon anymore…

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The halls were quiet. Everyone seemed to be away somewhere, with the exception of some palace guards who patrolled the marble castle. And with the exception of two royalties who stealthily sneaked past those. For Atem that was something new, as he had never before tried to creep past his subjects, as if he were a common thief. But he was following the bright moonchild, who was intent to escape the 'boring' palace to the outside.

"Where are we going?" asked Atem, as the princess once more skipped to another empty hallway, his hand still held firmly by her smaller pale hand. The girl giggled and pointed to a simple wooden door at the end of a hallway.

"To the storage room. We need to get you redressed and…" Serenity looked over him trailing off, smiling impishly. Well, he could understand the clothes part. He did not look the least as a citizen of this country. The people in this country preferred silver jewellery and clothing, which covered much more than his native clothing. The women wore long dresses, which though were elaborately designed, they covered most of their bodies and didn't have the revealing lines of the dresses the women in Kemet wore. The men wore tunics with pants. The jewellery worn was usually modest and not even nearly as extravagant as the ones he wore.

"And?"

"Hide your hair, silly." The girl giggled as she pointed to his hair.

"Why?" He didn't find anything wrong with his hair. Sure maybe it was extravagant, but he doubted that the commoners knew of his appearance. So, why would be it such a bother to hide his hair.

"No one on the moon has such hair?" offered the princess.

"But Princess Rei and Princess Hotaru are also dark-haired…" supplied Atem. The young prince failed to understand her reasoning. Surely they had also black-haired people. Besides hair-colour was widely spread in Kemet, and surely such things would also exist on the moon.

"Yeah, but they're not sneaking out of the palace. The moon people are fair, so it is pretty rare to spot someone like you. We'd be immediately spotted," her voice was soft and delicate. Atem nodded, mostly to himself. Perhaps she was right. Perhaps, he scolded himself for the notion of doubt. Of course Serenity would know of that, she lived here and he was just visiting, for the first time.

"Alright. But, still… are you sure it's a good idea?" Atem answered. He still doubted his decision to follow the blonde princess. Wasn't there supposed to be some sort of reception later? Where he was supposed to be officially introduced to the princess. He vaguely remembered Isis telling him of something grand planned later on today. But one phrase from the rabbit erased all of the doubts from his mind.

"Are you scared?" her voice was taunting, as she mischievously glanced at him. She was playing a game with him. A smirk found its way to his face. He would accept her dare. He was not scared, even if he was in a foreign country with different customs.

"I am not!" he made his statement boldly and proudly. He was the living embodiment of a god! He was not a coward.

"Good," a satisfied smirk was cast to him by the grace of the princess, who promptly dragged him into the room behind the door. The room was large and in the wardrobes standing in line by the walls there were numerous dresses, tunics and pants. All appropriate for a regular servant. Nothing elaborate, nothing extravagant.

Serenity quickly picked out a simple maroon tunic with black pants, a pair of leather boots, a headscarf similar to those the traveling tribes in his land wore upon their heads. She left him alone in dressing room, bashfully making her exit, after realizing she was waiting for him to undress in her presence. The notion amused Atem for a moment, as he knew many ladies in his court, who would give their souls to spend time alone with him, when he was undressed. But this princess seemed to be absolutely innocent.

After a short while he emerged. His gravity-defying hair was hidden by the scarf, the maroon tunic fit him nicely, and in some way even brightened his already sparkling ruby eyes. The pants were a bit uncomfortable for the young prince: he wasn't used to such clothing articles. As Serenity gave him a look of appraisal the prince could not deny himself giving her a twirl and a mock bow as he asked: "Will this be fine, your highness?"

"Yep, this is perfect," the princess giggled in delight at his antics. He smiled in reply, and gave in once more to her, as she grabbed his hand and dragged along once more, now freely running without any fear of being stopped by the guards through the palace halls. Just as they made it around another corner they've managed to crash into a young woman, who was probably not much older than they were. He heard Serenity curse quietly as she stood up. Atem tugged her hand in alarm, but Serenity just whispered: "Just act along."

"You servants! Don't you have any common decency! Running me down like this!" the young woman screeched, as Serenity quickly helped her up. Atem cringed in distaste, but forced the grimace of displeasure away. The woman was obviously nobility, as he could note from the heavy velvet brocade dress she wore. A long mantle draped the floor behind her, an unknown seal entwined with the crescent embroidered upon it. Her eyes were cobalt blue-grey and her hair was a light blonde, almost white colour. Her hair was made up in a similar way to the princess, only she had twin buns of hair on each side of her head, and the bottom part of the hair was falling in free waves to the mid of her back.

"I'm very sorry Lady Shizukesa," stuttered Serenity, but her displeasure of meeting this persona was blatantly obvious to him, "We were just hurrying along to the kitchens. I am guiding a new servant along," Serenity motioned to his form.

"Y-yes… very sorry, Lady Shizukesa," Atem hastily picked up along. The woman smirked, mistaking his stumble for fear, but rather it was the displeasure of a Crown Prince with the need to simper in front of some nobility, with her ego over blown.

"What are your names? I shall report you to the overseer! He will make sure you are punished," spoke the woman harshly.

"I am Sarina and this is Yami," Serenity didn't even pause to think as she lied, "Please, Lady, do not report us. We are nothing but humble servants in front of you! Surely you can be merciful," as Serenity bowed her head low, Atem followed her lead and out of the corner of his eye noticed a small unnoticeable by Shizukesa grin.

Shizukesa frowned and then made a dismissing wave with her hand, as she spoke in an unpleasing tone: "I will think of it. Now get out of my sight." Once more, bowing and curtsying, apologizing and bidding goodbye to her, Serenity grabbed his hand and dragged him away from the woman. Only once they were far away enough did they slow down. Standing under the arc which lead to the courtyard at the side of the palace, the sunlight filtering through the trees outside to her hair Serenity broke out it laughter, confusing Atem even more.

"Who was that?" he asked. He still was rather disgruntled from the previous meeting. It was the first time he met someone on the moon, who managed to annoy him in such a short while. That woman was the embodiment of the ladies he despised. But the sight of Serenity being so carefree and detached from the worries of the world, the golden light making her fair hair look like gold, it calmed him.

Serenity paused, as if searching for the right words to reply, "That is my cousin. She's… how to say…" The girl looked up, probably trying to find words which would not be cruel. She was so innocent and naïve. Isis had been right. She was something different alright.

"Haughty and vain." But Atem wasn't as nice as Serenity was. He would not try to sugar-coat the truth about the spoiled relative of the Serenity line. The moment the words left his mouth, Serenity gasped and looked at him in alarm.

"No! I'm sure she's a nice person."

"Really!" the prince stifled a laugh, as his companion tried to find excuses to the behavior of the spoiled lady, but she couldn't find any. Still chuckling, the pharaoh smirked, as he draped a hand across the girl's shoulders: "Whatever you say, little rabbit. Where to now?"

Serenity shifted nervously under his arm and pointed out to the corner of the yard, where a gate was hidden from casual sight: "There. This is the servants' exit."

* * *

The queen paced nervously in her room. It had been two hours since Serenity should have been dressed to meet Atem, and an hour since the ball in honour of Prince Atem's arrival had started. In her throne room the councillors were already gathered, and the queen didn't even doubt for one moment that her elder sister was already there, trying to set the council against her daughter once more. Miriam had done it before and would probably do it once more.

Selene knew that her elder sister despised her for being chosen as the next Queen in line. But who were they to deny the divine will. Selenity did nothing to enchant the Silver Crystal to choose her as its wielder. And in fact sometimes Selenity even wished she was never chosen for that role, because she found often that she barely had time for her beloved daughters.

A quiet knock alarmed from her thoughts. The door opened and her younger daughter came in. Hotaru nodded in greeting. The girl was so similar to her father in looks, it sometimes pained the queen to look at her. She still missed her dark king.

"Have you found her?" Selenity asked, her hands clasped together. But much to her woes Hotaru shook her head.

"Honestly, mother, I don't know where Serenity is…" spoke the princess quietly. Selenity groaned in irritation, _'She must have sneaked out again.' _It was no secret to the court that the Crown Princess took pleasure in escaping the palace to mingle with the commoners. And that of course did not raise her popularity with the council, even though the Silver Crystal chose her.

"Oh, honestly. Didn't I tell her that she was supposed to meet Prince Atem today?" groaned the queen.

"Perhaps we can go look for her before councillors grow even more discontent?" supplied Hotaru. Selenity nodded mutely.

"Yes, please do that. We all know that Miriam constantly is trying to sway their sympathy to her side." Her daughter frowned at her words. It was no secret to the palace dwellers that Duchess Miriam of Mare Serenitatis constantly plotted to have her daughter take over the throne. It was no secret that the council was still not content that the blood of Saturn would rule over the peaceful untainted people of the moon.

"Yes, mother," with these words Hotaru left Selenity's room. And it was no secret that the youngest daughter felt detached from her mother. Perhaps it was because it pained the queen to look at Hotaru, who shared the same black silky hair with highlights of deepest violet as the deceased King of Saturn. Perhaps it was also because her daughter was chosen as the next Sailor Saturn, which by the divine law made her first of all the guardian of the Silver Alliance and the Serenity line.

Selenity sighed as she sat down in front of her vanity mirror. Absent-mindedly she took the brush and started weaving it through her long pale-lavender hair. Sometimes she really didn't wish to be the queen. Maybe if she wouldn't have been, she could have had a normal family, where she could provide the comfort and love both of her daughters needed. Serenity wouldn't rebel so much and Hotaru would be closer to her.

But she couldn't fight her destiny. The sudden hum of power resonated through her body. And the queen smiled sadly. She cupped her hands in front of her chest, as a warm light seemed to pulse in between them, the ancient magic answering to her.

"Sometimes, you are my only comfort, Silver Crystal."

* * *

A lone figure stood hidden in the shadows of a great hall, where multiple guests were gathered. All of them wore rich clothing and their conversations seemed empty and meaningless to him. How he loathed the nobility. They were so caught up in their own power plays that they never took heed of the simple people.

"So... what now?" the figure whispered to no one in particular. And the shadows seemed to shift behind him, forming a transparent figure behind him unnoticeable and unheard by anyone but him.

'_Are you still not so sure about our plan, my white-haired friend?' _the shadow whispered darkly to the boy hidden away in the shadows.

"But this is the White Moon. What if they notice your presence?" his lavender eyes shifted across the crowd of people. So far he didn't notice any of those blasted Sailor Soldiers. But then again magic was spread much more widely in this land.

'_No… they won't. My powers are closely tied to the Millennium Items. If the Priestess of Mars would have been on the Earth and you would have been here, then they would have probably noticed you. But with her here, my presence shall be shielded.' _The words seemed to calm the boy, yet the irritation stayed upon his face. A woman in the arms of a duke went past him, giggling snobbishly, and the boy grimaced.

"But won't anyone suspect me? Acting as a servant of that good for nothing prince, that's disgusting!" the words were spat out in disgust.

'_Don't forget… we need to examine this ally of our enemy… besides… I feel it… a great dark power is hidden somewhere here. We must find the owner of that power and sway them to our side…' _The boy smirked. A dark power hidden away in this kingdom of light and joy, the irony didn't fail to amuse him. It would be hilarious if in the end the downfall of his enemies would be caused by something from this beacon of peace and hope.

* * *

Their journey had started at the market place and this was where it still was. Serenity had tried dragging him away from here, as soon as she introduced him to the culinary delicacies of her land: marmalade and hot chocolate. But as they went past a jewellery store, the rings displayed on a market table alarmed him to something, which had been constantly nagging at the back of his mind, yet constantly slipping away. The birthday gift for the princesses! Princess Serenity and Princess Hotaru were twins as unlikely as it seemed. But his father only gave a gift for the golden-haired princess.

It would be very impolite to award the golden-haired princess with a gift and to forget about the other girl. And so without any further explanation to Serenity, Atem started looking for a gift for Princess Hotaru. It was very difficult though, he didn't know what she liked or not, having spent much too little time in her company, and asking Serenity to help him with choosing a gift… well that seemed absolutely horrendous to him. Serenity would probably insulted by the fact that he dismissed her younger twin.

"Atem, what are you looking for? You've been going through the market back and forth for a very long time…" Serenity frowned. Her voice was displeased and impatient. The girl stiffly walked over to him, pushing him past another market stand, where he had been looking at brooches: "Come on! There's still so much to show you."

"But, Prin-" he began, yet was promptly silenced by a finger at his mouth. Her fingers were warm against his lips.

"Shhhh! Don't call me that here," whispered Serenity, looking around, but no one seemed to pay attention to them, they were blending in, and in the busy crowds, where market owners were shouting out offers, trying to attract customers to their shops, where customers argued with the owners about prices, no one took notice of his little slip up. Serenity gave him another push and Atem decided that he would dare risk her wrath. He would tell her the truth.

"But, I need to find a gift for your sister. Your twins and your birthdays are next week. But father just gave me one gift. I can't believe Isis didn't inform me upfront," he had to admit: it was rather selfish trying to put the blame to Isis and his father, but really. He wasn't informed that the two princesses were twins. He never even suspected it! He wasn't at fault. Really. But instead of becoming angry Serenity giggled.

"I can't believe Isis didn't inform me upfront," she taunted him, mocking the offended tone he used before, "Silly!" the princess smacked his back, pushing him forwards, "She didn't tell you anything, because Hotaru's birthday is half a year later than mine," explained Serenity. Which didn't really explain anything to him.

"What? But, you're twins."

"That we are. And?" her tone was nonchalant and calm. How could she see nothing wrong with her statement?

"How?"

At his question Serenity's face grew sombre. She stopped pushing him, and looked around once more checking if any of the palace guards were already searching for them. Finally she turned back to him and made a general waving motion to a street: "Let's not discuss it here. I suppose we can go to the Central Crystal Garden. There I can explain everything, while you can admire our city gardens."

"Alright." Atem obediently followed the girl through the street. Perhaps then she could explain the strangeness of the situation to him. After a while the crowds grew thinner, and as the long winding street came to an end a vast garden met his eyes. The gardens were really beautiful; he could really admire them for hours, just as she said.

All trees were cut to form animals, and everywhere there were multiple crystal statues of fantastical beasts adding more charm to the serene scenery, which differed greatly from the hustling market. And there was a pleasant cool breeze in these gardens. The young prince decided he really enjoyed the peace and serenity of the moon, compared to the heat of Kemet. Though the land of the golden deserts would always come first in his heart, but the moon would be his second favourite he decided.

After a short stroll through the park, they ended up in a secluded corner of the massive gardens, by a small stream of water. His guide sat down, throwing off the flat shoes she wore and dunked her feet into the cool water.

"So, what's the big deal?" asked Atem, as he sat down at Serenity's side, still eager for the explanation of the strange order of birthdays in her family. Serenity's eyes became glazed over as she stared into the distance and started her story:

"It all starts with my mother meeting father…

* * *

_Our father was the King of Saturn, now it is no secret that the powers of the royals of the Moon and Saturn are almost opposite. One of life, rebirth and healing, the other of death, destruction and ruin. My mother opposed many councillors' wishes when she married father. As a rule the Lunarians never married Saturnians, for the mixing of the blood could result unexpected results. Before the era of peace many people tried to mix these two bloods to create powerful warriors and rulers. But it always backfired. The children born usually either harboured uncontrollable vast powers, but were born with a demented mind. But my mother was so completely in love with father that she never once failed to believe that the power of their love could create a miracle._

_And so it happened. A year after their marriage, which sealed the Silver Alliance she gave birth to us. I was the first of the twins. The other was Hotaru. When we were born, the White Moon rejoiced for it was visible already to the naked eye that the bloodlines didn't mix in the children. The power of the Silver Crystal, which is my mother's sacred gem, held the two ancient bloods apart. My hair, which was the colour of the sun and moon, and the eyes, the blue colour of the oceans, - it all signified the prevalence of the Serenity bloodline. The black hair and almost white skin signified Hotaru's adherence to the Saturnine blood. The news calmed down the councilors, who had vowed that should there be any signs that the tragedies of the past would be repeated through our powers, we would be put down, even if we were the Heirs of the Silver Alliance._

_But my parents' joy did not last long. As the second twin, Hotaru, never once opened her eyes nor gave out a cry. She was barely alive. As it seemed, the body of the mother, the Lunarian Queen, had greatly diminished the child's immune system. It was so because Hotaru was the opposite to mother. She always will be. And so, much to mother's and father's grief, the doctors told them Hotaru wouldn't survive the first day. But mother continued to hope and with the help of the Silver Crystal she sustained the life of Hotaru purely on magic._

_Of course with each day their hope diminished, because our parents understood that without the magic Hotaru wouldn't be able to last. Never once in that time did she make any sound, movement. She never opened her eyes. She was just sleeping. Half a year later mother finally made her decision. She would let go of Hotaru. It was cruel to hold her spirit in this stagnation, if her daughter could move on to a next life, where she could actually live._

_Now, if you remember I was only a half-year old babe at that time. I do not hold any recollection of those events, and I am retelling you the story only from my mother's words. That cold winter day we gathered by Hotaru. Mother, father and I. They said their goodbyes to their daughter and then placed me, a child, who barely comprehended anything back then into Hotaru's crib. And like any curious child I reached out to Hotaru, wanting her to wake up. And then for the first time since we were born I touched my sister._

_I still do not quite believe that story, because how could I, a mere child, produce a miracle which my mother couldn't. She said the moment I touched Hotaru, my sister's eyes opened and she smiled at me. But I'm sure there must be a logical explanation to that. It couldn't have been my power, which awoke my sister. Perhaps it had been the lingering magic of the Silver Crystal, which in combination with my latent powers and Hotaru's and mine connection as twins triggered her awakening._

* * *

"… so there you go. This is why my birthday is in summer and Hotaru's birthday is during the winter."

The story was simply to say amazing. He had been always fascinated with Isis's stories of the magic in the Silver Alliance. The stories of the brave and valiant predecessors to the current Sailor Soldiers. It always took his imagination away to distant stars, which later called out to him at night, when he watched them from the balconies of his white-walled palace. But… once more he concluded, Isis was right. Serenity was something different alright. Even as a child, she saved her sister and here she was… she didn't even try to take the glory for that.

"Wow! You're amazing," he whispered and Serenity blushed heavily. The bright red color on her cheeks looked cute and adorable. His respect for her grew even more. If only more people were like her. If only more people were so innocent…

"Oh, stop it! I am not amazing. Like I told you, it couldn't have been me. I'm struggling through simple lessons of magic with Malik, and you say that I awakened Hotaru alone when I was just a babe," she argued back, and as she looked fiercely at him, as if trying to get him to agree with her, he found her utterly irresistible.

"Perhaps… you are just underestimating yourself," he offered coyly. Perhaps his father was right offering him the ring as a gift to the princess. He could see her by his side. The sudden thought brought forth a heavy blush on his face as well, but the princess didn't seem to notice it, as she too was fighting her own embarrassment.

"Stop sweet-talking me, you silly prince." Her eyes were downcast, the dusky eyelashes almost brushing her cheeks, the deep blush still covering her cheeks. She was even biting her lower lip nervously. For a second Atem enjoyed the vision and then quickly shook off his own fluster.

"I'm not silly!" he argued back, "But think about it! Maybe you just need to awaken. Perhaps you could become a Sailor Soldier even. Sailor Moon." The blue-eyed girl glanced up at him suddenly, fear and anticipation equally shown in her eyes. Her emotions never failed to glow through her eyes.

"Ah… that would be great. I'd love to know some self-defence and fighting moves," she spoke passionately, but as if mentally berating herself for the slip up, she lowered her eyes in shame and disappointment, "But mother prohibits me from learning that. She says that I could awaken as Sailor Moon, and that would mean the end of the peace."

Her logic eluded the young prince. It was sort of strange. Why would it matter if she learned the ways of battle and defence? Surely that simple action wouldn't cause a disaster. He failed to see how these lessons would bring forth a war.

"But… what if the era of peace would end anyways and you would awaken as Sailor Moon who cannot even defend her kingdom?"

"The end of the peace?" A frown made upon her face, as her eyes grew distant.

"I'm sure that simply teaching you the art of battle wouldn't mean that the peace would end. How would it be possible? Only if you went to war with the neighbouring kingdoms or something…" carefully explained Atem. Needless to say the reply didn't let wait for it too long.

"I would never!" vehemently denied the princess.

Atem smirked. This was exactly what he was trying to show her: "See. So why can't you learn?"

Serenity looked down. "But nobody wants to teach me," she bit out.

"Huh?" This was strange. In his land the children of the pharaohs always learned defence. And the princesses if they desired to do so, could also learn it. And of course anyone would just love to teach the royalties, hoping that later it would give them some privileges. So why wouldn't anyone want to teach her? Why wouldn't her **friends **teach her, even if her mother was against it?

Serenity gave out a bitter laugh, as she started speaking: "The Sailor Soldiers and the Shadow Soldiers have strict orders to keep close to my curriculum. Even Malik and the Council of Military never would dare to disobey a direct order from my mother," her eyes became glassy as she lowered her voice, "Plus… ever since the war with the Dead Moon…"

"Wasn't that five years ago?" He heard of the devastating war on the moon. Some ancient queen on the dark side of the moon had awoken back then and the kingdom suffered devastating losses.

"Yes, it was."

That year was very peculiar. Even the Earth had been affected. People were dying after being brought down with strange diseases and the harvest was almost lost back then. The prince spoke carefully, remembering the strangest occurrence: "I remember that it was abnormally hot that year. And the sun…" Yet Serenity interrupted him, as she started speaking.

"… had great black spots upon it. And from those came the great demon Metallia," she rose from the ground looking into the distance, her face seemingly emotionless, "That demon managed to awaken the Dark Queen of the Moon. Nehelenia. The war was devastating. Though in the end mother managed to seal the queen and banish Metallia, the losses were irreplaceable," her voice broke off, and then she whispered: "Father died in the battle to protect the capital."

"I'm sorry," hastily apologized Atem as he rose to her side, hugging the princess, who grew stiff in his embrace. He felt uncomfortable as he tried to console the girl. But he understood her pain. His mother had passed away when he was just seven, but the pain was still fresh as ever. If he were to lose father, he would not know what he would do…

"It's okay," whispered Serenity, looking up at him, and in her azure blue eyes, unshed tears sparkled, and the young prince's heart cried out to her pain, "I don't think I will ever get over it," she stumbled out of his embrace, and wiped away the tears with her hand, "But… it's alright," Serenity whispered suddenly smiling fondly, "I think he is still there, always watching over mother, Hotaru and I. As long as I keep the precious memories of father alive, then he'll never be truly gone."

"Yes, it is so…" murmured Atem in reply. He knew the feelings of pain and regret, grief and sorrow. But they had to keep on living. His mother, the previous holder of the Millennium Tauk, had sacrificed her life protecting him against an attack in a war, which had been so long ago; he didn't even remember why it started. His father had been away, and his mother died valiantly defending his life. She died in his arms. He remembered crying for days. He remembered the whispers of the bloody revenge his father exalted on the enemies of his kingdom. But in the end he learned to smile again. Because mother died for his sake: he had to keep on living. And in the afterlife he would meet her once more.

They stood in silence observing each other, as if seeing each other for the first time. But an annoyed shout broke the dream.

"Princess!" That was Isis's voice.

"Prince Atem!" And this was Princess Hotaru.

Turning back the pair saw the Sailor Soldiers of Four Guardian Deities accompanied by Sailor Saturn. Sailor Saturn stood silently, though if one looked carefully, you could see the brief flash of amusement upon her stoic face. Sailor Mercury seemed slightly disappointed, but it was more geared towards Serenity, than Atem. Sailor Mars, Isis, was literally fuming. Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus were giggling, not bothering to hide their amusement with Isis's anger and their predicament.

"You are such troublemakers! We've been frantically searching for both of you! The Queen is trying to hold off the councillors' distaste of this behaviour, while you two are lounging in the city!" shouted Isis as she marched over to the moon princess, glaring at the blonde.

"Rei-chan!" whined Serenity, as she shied away from Isis, to hide behind him. Atem chuckled lightly at her antics, but they didn't amuse Isis in the least.

"Don't you Rei-chan me, meatball head!" growled Isis, as she grabbed Serenity's hand and dragged her out from behind him.

"So, mean, Rei-chan!" exclaimed Serenity. And then she did something, which he definitely didn't expect from the princess. She stuck her tongue out at Isis. Warily he backed away from the two girls. He knew very well of the black-haired girl's temper. Nervously the prince glanced at Serenity, who seemed to act rather obvious, the growing murderous rage in Isis's eyes.

"I'm not even started yet!" shouted Isis, while Serenity just huffed in annoyance, "While your mother is back there trying to convince those old farts that you'll be a great queen, you are sneaking away royal guests to the city, dressed as commoners!" at the accusation Serenity's resolve seemed to diminish, "Miriam is already probably planning to have a victory party! You know that she always uses any excuse to show the councillors that you are not worthy to be a queen, since you are not even a full Lunarian." The words hit head on. Serenity lowered her gaze, and tears began forming in her eyes.

"Rei… I think that's enough. I'm sure Serenity knows all of that!" spoke Sailor Venus strictly, as she stepped by Rei's side and glared at her comrade angrily.

"I'm just looking out to her future as the queen!" exclaimed Isis, or as her friends called her Rei, "I've pledged my loyalty to her, and if needed I will beat some sense into her head," with that she pointed to Serenity, who looked up in anger at the black-haired girl.

"Maybe I do not want to be queen!" shouted the princess suddenly. The sudden exclamation brought silence. Everyone glanced between each other grimly.

"Sere-chan…" whispered Sailor Saturn. The violet-eyed Soldier started walking towards her sister, who was still shaking slightly, the tears rolling down her cheeks, as she glared at Isis, but Atem made the first move.

Moving over to her side, he gently wiped away her tears, as he raised her chin, for her to look away from Isis, and softly spoke: "There now. No use for tears," he took her hand, and turned back to her Sailor Soldiers, "Perhaps it would be best if we got dressed for the formal reception, so that I could apologize as soon as possible for holding up the heir to the throne."

"Atem?" Isis gasped, "Don't you dare patronize Serenity. She needs to learn responsibility." The tanned youth simply smiled at his offended friend. While he certainly knew that Isis treated Serenity sometimes harshly because she wanted the princess to succeed in the cruel political games of the nobility, there were times when the line was crossed. And this was such a time, especially after Serenity's confession to him, the moment where she poured out her heart. This was not the time to speak of her father or of anything which touched him.

"I'm sure there's still time to do that, Isis," he would solve this argument diplomatically, like the great pharaoh he was expected to become, "Like you said, Serenity is not like the other noble women, and she needs her time and space. And I'm sure the councillors won't be able to influence my father to remove me from the line to the throne."

This seemed to calm Isis down. The girl nodded in agreement, and hastily hugged Serenity, apologizing to her. And just as quickly as Serenity broke down, she seemed to liven up once more, as she gave him a grin, and whispered quietly: "Thanks." The prince beamed in reply, and together they took off. Or they thought they could.

"Stop!" Sailor Venus moved to stand in front of them, "You're not planning to go to the palace like that?" she chided.

"Why? We can redress inside," spoke Serenity.

"With the guards on the lookout for Princess Serenity and Prince Atem?" provided Sailor Jupiter sardonically.

"Imagine this," spoke Mercury, who had been silent until now, "The scandal if the heir to Kemet and heir to the Moon sneak back in, wearing commoner clothing, before they were even formally introduced."

The implications dawned upon them, as the pair blushed furiously. The courts were the same no matter where they were. The Moon. The Earth. Mars. Mercury. Jupiter. Neptune. It didn't matter. But tongues were often quite loose in such places, and even the slightest misstep from a royalty already provided solid base for all kinds of rumours.

"Ah, I'm quite sure the ladies of the court with Shizukesa in front will already start making lecherous remarks about that," grinned Venus, as she threw a coy glance to the blonde princess, who bristled in fury.

"They wouldn't dare!" hissed Serenity, "My cousin is not that bad!" Her exclamation brought forth amused chuckles from her friends, even as she stared them down in determination. It seemed as if Atem wasn't the only one who found Serenity's belief in the good heart of anyone, including one annoying court lady, rather amusing.

"Ah, silly bunny, don't fool yourself," murmured Venus draping an arm around Serenity's shoulders, "Now, you better make great use of the magic you learned with Malik, unless you were staring at him," Serenity made a small gasp, but Venus just waved her hand and continued, "which wouldn't be surprising, since he's such a cutie," ignoring the indignant protests of the princess, the Sailor Soldier of love, clapped her hands and waved towards the moon princess and the kemetian prince, "Now conjure up royal clothing for both of you."

"Alright, Minako-chan…" said Serenity rather annoyed by the antics of the leader of the Sailor Soldiers. Atem smiled to the blonde in support. The princess clothed her eyes in concentration, and from beneath the line of linen which covered her forehead a glow began to emanate. A breeze picked up around them, and a bright flash of light caused everyone to cover their eyes.

As the light died down no longer did Atem feel the uncomfortable fabric of the pants. He was once more wearing the clothing he was used to. The white tunic, with the royal blue kilt tied in front, the heavy necklaces covering his shoulders and chest, the familiar weight of the crown, the chokers, bracelets and legs ornament providing comfort. He looked himself over and smiled in satisfaction. She perfectly reproduced the clothing he wore before disguising himself as a commoner.

And in front of him stood Serenity. Her hair was made up in the same hairdo her mother wore, and pearl clips took in the soft golden glow of her hair, the white pearls becoming almost golden. On her forehead the golden upturned crescent flickered briefly between silver and gold. Her ears were decorated with earrings of delicately twisted gold threats. Her dress… was similar to her mothers and then again it wasn't. It was also pristine white, but it had shell-styled sleeves and embroidery of golden circles ran across her chest. Just below her bosom a line of pearls ran and from there the dress flared out to the ground the multiple layers losing their transparency together and becoming regal and dignified enough for a princess. A white cloak of sheer silky material rested lightly upon her shoulders.

"This is perfect, princess." And he wasn't really speaking of the display of her magic. He held out his hand to her.

"It's Serenity, Atem!" chided Serenity politely, as she graciously accepted his hand. He only chuckled in reply.

"Time to teleport!" spoke Sailor Venus, and the five Sailor Soldiers formed a circle,  
Come on, get inside the circle."

And as the ephemeral princess guided him into the circle of her guardians, Atem asked: "Teleport? What is that?"

"Have you never seen the Sailor Soldiers do that?" she inquired, genuinely surprised. He briefly noted the five warriors glowing with their respected colours.

"It's a way of…" and as she spoke, the glow became bright almost covering the surrounding scenery.

"…instantly travelling great distances." And then the scenery changed to the marble entrance hall of the castle.

"Neat," spoke the prince, "I will be learning this when I return to my kingdom. Only we call it Shadow Walking."

"But this I think is different. Rei-chan?" murmured Serenity, turning to Isis. The violet-eyed priestess-princess nodded, as she motioned them to follow her to the throne room.

"She's right," spoke Isis, "The Shadow Walking is similar in result to Sailor Teleport, but the difference is in the method of transportation. While on short distances the difference is barely noticeable, it is visible on a grander scale. If the distance would have been great you would have noticed that we were moving in a cocoon of magic past the surroundings to the point of destination. The speed of transportation is similar to the speed of light. The Shadow Walking though is similar to our other method of transport, which can be conducted only with Sailor Pluto, Queen Selenity or Serenity. In the Shadow Walking you move in to the Shadow Realm for a brief moment, and walk out in your destination point."

The theory was a bit confusing, even if it made sense a bit to the prince. He glanced over to Serenity, who just grinned goofily, whispering to him, "It still eludes me also."

"In essence, the Shadow Realm serves as a wormhole in the space-time fabric, a shortcut for Shadow Walking. The other method of transportation we use creates a wormhole in the fabric of the time and space. Though we can use it without Sailor Pluto, Queen Selenity or Serenity, we prefer not to, because if we do not close up the wormhole fully, we might create a permanent shift in the space-time continuum, which could create a way for the enemies to get to us later. So, we leave this matter of movement only if we need to get to another plane of existence or to a very distant destination," this time it had been Mercury who continued Isis's explanation.

"Uh, guys?" spoke Venus. The Soldiers of Mercury and Mars who had been walking in front of them, talking about the methods of travel in detail, paused and looked back at the empty gazes of Atem , Serenity and Venus.

"I think you lost both of them. And me too…" Venus giggled. It embarrassed Atem a bit. He was the Crown Prince and he had to learn it later. But the theory just confused him even more.

"Don't worry," grinned Isis, "Seth shall explain it to you later on. It's not that hard," her eyes turned to Venus, who grinned sheepishly at her, "And, Minako you should pay more attention to your lessons too. I don't understand how you can be the leader of the Sailor Soldier guard with such an attitude as yours."

"Hey! I never fail do I? I've got my heart set right, and that's all that matters!"

"How will you ever rule Venus with such an attitude?"

Atem chuckled as another friendly bickering broke out in the Sailor Soldier team. He glanced down at his companion, who seemed strangely quiet. Serenity was nervously biting her lower lip, and her eyes seemed to flicker to the grand twin doors they were approaching and to her feet.

"Hey… you alright?" he nudged the princess gently.

"Just a bit nervous. I hope Aunt Miriam didn't cause any problems to mom…" she murmured.

"Is she the mother of Shizukesa?" asked Atem. Serenity nodded hesitantly. "Why is she so against you? Isn't the heir to the throne chosen by the crystal?" Serenity nodded once more and so he inquired: "So, you were chosen already. So why does she still fight?" Though there were some in their country who also weren't quite happy with the pharaoh, and perhaps wanted to rule in his stead, but they were scared of openly acting against the ruler, because the pharaoh was the living god personified. It would surely bring down a terrible curse upon them.

"Well, you see: the Moon was chosen as the head of the Silver Alliance because of the purity of our kind. We never even had a Sailor Soldier before. That's why we were chosen to lead, because we wouldn't be too power-hungry or war-lustful. But my father was the King of Saturn, the last planet which joined the alliance. They were always feared by others…"

"And?"

"Do you know what they called father? The Bloodletting Prince. He was a good father, but he was named after Thanatos not for nothing," and in a sombre voice the princess spoke as if revising a story, "'_And there the children of dark Night have their dwellings, Sleep and Death, awful gods. The glowing Sun never looks upon them with his beams, neither as he goes up into heaven, nor as he comes down from heaven. And the former of them roams peacefully over the earth and the sea's broad back and is kindly to men; but the other has a heart of iron, and his spirit within him is pitiless as bronze: whomsoever of men he has once seized he holds fast: and he is hateful even to the deathless gods'. _It always seemed that he was calm here in this castle, but back on his planet he was merciless. For any mistake blood flowed. And I am his daughter." The last words were bitter.

"But you are nothing like him," surely the princess could see that she was not in any way dark or hard-hearted.

"But they still see him in Hotaru and I," whispered Serenity anxiously, "We love father, we miss him, but we cannot ignore the shadow he still casts over us. Like the true King of Saturn," her grip on his elbow tightened, "The councillors are easily swayed against me, since I am almost half-demon to them…" a bitter laugh echoed through her throat and Atem decided that this laugh was not meant for the symbol of innocence in his eyes.

"Don't let them get to you," he murmured with affection.

"But it's not me they're hurting. It's mother. I'm afraid to let her down once more. And Miriam will just try to get to the throne," a cold smile was fixed upon her face. And that moment Atem knew, if for some reason this would be face of the future moon queen, it would be a terrible loss to the world. Because in a world where so little people with hearts of gold were left, it would heartless to kill the soul of another one. And for that he grew to dislike Miriam and Shizukesa even more.

The twins doors opened and flanked by the five Sailor Soldiers, who promptly detransformed into their royal clothing, they walked in. Their heads were raised and their eyes were determined. At the throne Queen Selenity sat, her face set calm and betraying no emotion. But the brief flicker of worry in her eyes betrayed the situation. To her left side stood a woman with harsh face lines, her mouth set in a frown. She had a similar hairdo to Shizukesa, and from that Atem concluded that it was Duchess Miriam, the sister of Queen Selenity. Next to the woman stood a tall man, no a boy, about his age, he had pale sandy-blond hair, and his eyes were pale-lavender. He was garbed in a long white mantle, the hood covering his hair. To the right of the queen seven elderly men and women stood. They were all wearing modest grey mantles, their eyes dispraisingly examining the arrived prince and the princes. That was probably the council.

"Prince Atem. Princess Serenity! Could you care to explain your late arrival? You've kept honoured guests waiting," the queen spoke pleasantly. As she gazed expectantly at them, another voice spoke up.

"Honoured councillors, Her Royal Highness perhaps forgot her responsibilities," it was that woman, Miriam, she glanced disdainfully at Serenity, and once more Atem felt her grip on her hand tighten, "It would not be for the first time," the women noted mockingly.

"Perhaps Duchess Miriam," spoke up carefully the boy to her side, "it would be advisable to be silent until Her Royal Highness, the Crown Princess Speaks," in shock the woman turned to face him, but as the boy met her gaze without any fear, the woman bowed, even all the while she glared at the youth.

"As you wish, Prince Malik," Atem darted his gaze over the boy, so this was the High Priest, he was younger than he expected him to be, "I apologize for my disrespect. But we were all kept waiting, and wish to know, why Her Royal Highness arrived late and also caused the tardiness of His Royal Highness, the Prince of Kemet, Atem."

The hall was silent as everyone glanced over to Serenity, who shifted nervously.

"My daughter?"

And just as Serenity opened her mouth to explain, Atem beat her to it. He promised to back her up, and that he would do: "Your Majesty, I must apologize. It was my entire fault."

And everyone turned their attention to him. He felt the princess's grip on his hand relax, and smiled in satisfaction. And so he continued his speech, his low voice as if casting a spell over the court of the White Moon, "I was enamoured by the flourishing Moon Kingdom, thus when I met Princess Serenity, I couldn't help but ask her to give me a tour around the castle and the palace grounds. The moon enchanted me and I forgot about the official reception. In my state of mind I've distracted Her Royal Highness from her duties."

"Is that so, my daughter?" asked the queen once he finished his tale. Serenity's glance darted over to him, and this time it was him who gripped her hand in support.

"Yes, it is, mother," replied the blonde girl softly. The council members broke out in whispers, and their statures seem to relax, no longer did Atem feel any discontent from them. The dangerous situation was evaded.

"Very well," spoke up the queen regally, "I'm glad you have provided our most honoured guest your company to entertain him. And now let us join our guests in the ballroom. They've been waiting long enough." The woman rose and the guards opened the doors leading to a grand hall, from which the sounds of music and conversations now freely could travel towards them.

"As you say, Your Majesty." Atem glanced at Serenity, who smiled sheepishly. That little imp! "A ball?" he asked incredulously. Surely she should have known about it. And yet she still ran away from the palace and dragged him along!

"A brilliant save, Atem," whispered Isis, as she passed them, following after the queen.

"_Her Majesty, Queen of Silver Alliance, Queen of the White Moon Kingdom, Queen Dowager of Saturn Kingdom, Queen Selenity the Second!"_

"Thank you, Atem. You've really bailed me out. The councillors were already ready to chew me apart," whispered Serenity, untwining their arms.

"You know there was a ball and still you sneaked away?" accused the prince, half-heartedly glaring at his companion. Yet she only gave him a mischievous smile. Really, she was something different alright! An imp! Not a princess!

"_Her Royal Highness, the Crown Princess of the White Moon Kingdom, Princess of the Saturn Kingdom, Duchess of Mare Crisium, Duchess of Rhea, Princess Serenity._

"_Her Royal Highness, the Crown Princess of the Saturn Kingdom, the Princess of the White Moon Kingdom, Duchess of Titan, Duchess of Mare Tranquillitatus, Princess Hotaru."_

"I've got to go now," chirped Serenity, as she skipped over to her sister. "We'll speak some more after the official part." She waved to him and then holding her head up high, her face cleared of all childishness, she walked down to the ballroom looking every bit the princess she was, hand in hand with her sister. Black and White.

"_Announcing the most honourable guest, His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Kemet of Earth, Prince Atem."_

Well… it was time to rock the party. Dragging a hand through his blonde strands, Atem smirked, and entered the ballroom, to the quiet hushes and curious gazes from the nobility of the Silver Alliance. After all, it was not every day they met a Living God.

* * *

**End of Chapter 1**

* * *

**_12/11/2010_**_ – Initially the script for this chapter had been longer, but I've realized that it was better off to end the chapter at the beginning of the ball in honour of Atem's arrival. Because starting from the ball many storylines of multiple characters will begin to connect, and I wanted in the end to dedicate this one to Atem and Sere._

_I'm glad with the length of this chapter, it is decent._

**_EDIT: 02.07.2013 _**_Changed mentions of Sennen to Millennium, Senshi to Soldiers, Monster to Daeva._

**_Chapter notes:_**

_(1) Daeva - Ancient name of a Duel Monster._

* * *

**_I like it very much, that the prologue of this story received so many updates. It strengthens my faith in YGOSM crossovers. I'd enjoy very much if you guys who enjoy my story and read it, continue offering advice and criticism. Yeah, this means what you've been all fearing, hehe, review actively if you really like the story. Because I'm a lazy person, and I can disappear for months: but if you give me feedback it motivates me not to disappear._**

**_With love, Yami Nocturna._**


	3. 2: Prejudice and Misunderstanding

**_26/04/2011 – _**_Took me quite awhile to write out this chapter. And once more I had to deviate from my current chapter plan, because as I noticed I had too much content in one chapter. 24 freaking pages. 24! And according to the story plan I would have had at least 15 more. That's why the story plan lengthened by one chapter more. And for some reason, I know that it's gonna stretch out even more than the initial plan. Well… my own fault for picking out two animes to cross that have enough characters for a saga. Enjoy._

* * *

**Thanks to all those who reviewed/favourited/alerted this story**: **Persephone Perez Pott **(yeah, Atem/Sere are really cute), **Anime Princess **(enjoy), **Kochou-hime **(you have no idea, I even had to calculate how much of Infinitas I'm supposed to write, before putting out the chapters for Originis and in what order -_-;;), **Scarlet Moon **(thanks a lot, yeah, Atem is a very sly character, very smart too, too smart sometimes), **Sesshy's Mistress **(I realize now, that you are very greedy on my updates and if you had the chance you would tie me down and not let me go until I finish ALL of my stories), **Keira-Senju-Uchiha, bunnychu15, Dragonflamecrystal**

* * *

**Names and ages:**  
Duke **Ryuu** of Enceladus, Saturn Kingdom (Duke Devlin), Dragon General - 19  
Duke **Jou** of Callisto, Jupiter Kingdom (Joey Wheeler), Lion General - 20  
Lady **Anzu** (Anhurit) of Kemet, Sailor Sennyo (Forgiving Maiden) (Tea Gardner) - 17  
Earl **Hiro** of Oberon, Uranus Kingdom (Tristan Taylor), Gryphon General - 20  
Marquise **Mai Valentine** of Nyx Mons, Venus Kingdom, Sailor Tori (Harpie Lady) (Mai Valentine) – 21  
Lady **Kisara** of Atlas City, Moon Kingdom, Sailor Hakuryuu (Blue Eyes White Dragon) – 18  
Lady **Mana** of Kemet, Sailor Mahoutsukai (Dark Magician Girl) – 16  
Priest **Seth** – 19  
Magician **Mahaad** of Kemet - 21  
Princess **Serenity**, Princess **Hotaru** – 14 (almost 15)  
Princess **Rei-Isis**, Princess **Minako**, Princess **Ami**, Princess **Makoto** – 16  
Prince **Atem** – 16  
Thief **Bakura** – 17  
Princess **Michiru**, Princess **Haruka** – 18  
Queen **Setsuna** – 25  
Priest **Shada** - 24  
Queen **Selenity**, Duchess **Miriam** of Mare Nubium - unknown  
Prince **Diamond** – 21  
Prince **Sapphire** – 19  
Prince **Endymion** – 19  
Lady **Shizukesa**, Countess of Arzachel - 16

* * *

**A.c.h.e.r.o.n : O.r.i.g.i.n.i.s**

**Part I: Innocence**

**Chapter 2**

* * *

_This story took place at least a thousand years before the time of Queen Selenity and Princess Serenity. The Silver Alliance had just been established and terrible wars were happening upon the Earth. It was at that time that the distant descendants of the Tankei Kingdom, which had existed upon the distant star Kinmoku five thousand years ago, arrived in the Solar System. They were led by Princess Kakyuu the 50th. These were the last remnants of people, who had seen the end of that terrible confrontation that had taken place a very long time ago._

_It was told that the first Princess Kakyuu, after whose name all the descendants of the royal line were named afterwards, battled side by side with a Legendary Warrior of Light to defeat the Great Enemy - Chaos, at the place where everything was born, the place where time held no meaning, Zero Sagittarius Star, the place where the Galaxy Cauldron existed._

_Queen Sarina the 3rd observed cautiously the red-haired woman kneeling low before her. This Princess Kakyuu asked for haven in their kingdom. She would of course allow them that. It was not the fault of the Kinmoku-jin that their planet was stricken by a meteor. The Lunarians easily provided haven for those of pure hearts. And the Kinmoku-jin were an ancient race which was by now scattered all over the universe. But they were honored everywhere. Because they were one of the few who lived through that Sailor War._

"_Rise, Princess Kakyuu, you have no need to bow before me," spoke Sarina, "Your ancestors have saved this world from a terrible threat. You are an honored guest in our kingdom."_

_Yet, Princess Kakyuu shook her head, "No, it is an honor for me to be in the Kingdom which shall give birth to the Ultimate Sailor Soldier, the Legendary Warrior of Light," she said._

_Sarina froze shaken by the words of the redheaded princess, "You mean the warrior from that time shall be reborn?" she whispered, "In my family?"_

"_Hm. Reborn, you could say so. Though…" Kakyuu trailed off thoughtfully, before continuing, "I do not know if that is correct. But never mind, that is still yet to come: we shall not breathe long enough to see that, but there is something your family must hold on to," she said. And from the folds of her red multi-layered chiffon dress the princess pulled out a golden locket. It was star shaped and on top of it was a moon._

"_This is the Starlocket. By my ancestors I was told to pass it to the White Moon Kingdom of the Silver Alliance. This is why we arrived here," spoke Kakyuu calmly, "To pass this legacy to the first Queen of the Silver Alliance, for once upon a time it shall be passed to the one meant to have it," the Princess stepped forward and passed the Starlocket to the Moon Queen._

_Sarina gracefully accepted the gift, still pondering upon the meaning of this strange meeting._

_The people of Kinmoku-jin scattered across Jupiter and Mars, where they eventually blended in with the locals and long before the time of Princess Serenity and Queen Selenity died out the last of the royal line of Princess Kakyuu, thus ending the long-lasting legacy of the Princesses who descended from Sailor Kakyuu, a Soldier who fought against Chaos, with the Legendary Warrior of Light._

_But the Starlocket remained. And within it was the will of a person even more Legendary that Sailor Kakyuu. And her will was sleeping until the Starlocket would fall into the hands of the one meant for her._

_But eventually no one believed that the Starlocket would be something for the Legendary Warrior of Light, and eventually it became so that the Crown Princess would receive the locket upon her fifth birthday. She would pass the locket to her intended once she was engaged. And the King Regnant of the Moon would pass it to the Crown Princess on her fifth birthday. And the cycle repeated._

_And so, the Starlocket was in the ownership of Princess Serenity at the moment – the one who was always meant to have it._

* * *

The balls were always so wondrous here on the moon. Here no one cared that she was a simple peasant girl. Here all that mattered was her Sailor Soldier title. The Alliance always welcomed Sailor Soldier, who amongst them ranked always along the level of Princesses. Even in Kemet, although she was trained by the priests to harbour the vast powers of Shadow Realm she was constantly reminded of the fact that she was a mere bumpkin, and in the end should be happy that she just breathed the same air as those with born titles.

Back on Earth no matter what festivities were held she was always reminded of her place. She was always so far from him, the beautiful red-eyed Prince of her kingdom. She had always liked him, ever since their first meeting. He, without a doubt, didn't remember it; yet she had fallen in love with his bright smile seven years ago. Alright, maybe at first it was a crush: a crush towards the saviour of their village, but it developed with time into a deep feeling of attachment and love towards her Prince.

Back then their village was on the brink of starvation after having been separated from the main trading ways. It was only by chance that Prince Atem and his attendants ended up in their village because of the desert storm. To this day Lady Anzu still thanked that desert storm which brought the Prince to their village. Seeing the despair of their town, Prince Atem ordered immediately to do something about it: and so her family and her dear ones were saved from a hungry death. She still remembered the bright smile on her face, as Prince Atem was leaving and caravans with necessities and food from the Kingdom were arriving. The village hadn't been flourishing since then, but at least they were fed and alive.

So when the caravans from the Kingdom brought news that the Pharaoh was searching for the remaining two Guardians of the Shadow Realm, who would be trained as Sailor Soldier of Shadow Realm by the Queen Selenity and serve the Pharaoh and the Prince alongside with the priests, Anzu sincerely prayed that her spirit was strong, strong enough to harbour a powerful Daeva, which would be approved by the Priest Shada: she even tried to sneak out of her house at night, to make it to the Waset _(1) _where the Lunar Queen and Priest Shada were judging everyone who wished to be tried for abilities. But much to her disappointment she had been caught by her father and mother, severely scolded and locked inside.

And so it seemed as if her dreams of meeting the Prince flew away with the passing wind once more. But months passed and they Lunar Queen and Priest Shada had no success in finding the fourth guardian of Shadow Realm. And even though another summon for all suitable female candidates between the age of ten and fourteen was sent out, her father and mother still didn't let her go.

And one day as she went out to the well to get some more water, she saw the most beautiful woman she had ever seen: her skin was pale as the moon, in sharp contrast to the tanned golden-brown skin of the royal guards and the Priests accompanying her; a dress of a pristine white material flowing and reflective like the water hugged tightly her curves; hair the shade of lavender lotuses fell down to the ground in two pigtails – _she _was simply the most beautiful creature Anzu had ever seen in her life, and when a gleaming golden crescent caught her attention, the glistening symbol right in the centre of the woman's forehead, Anzu still remembered how her breath hitched in her throat.

Because when those blue eyes settled in on her, Anzu couldn't even hope that _they _could be here because of her, because they came for _her, _the plain little Anzu. Because she was the one destined to become a Sailor Soldier of the Shadow Realm. Because she could finally meet her saviour, the one whom she desperately wanted to meet.

And just as the queen gently touched her shoulder the poor village girl had been whisked away to a life of riches. Even her village now was flourishing, because a child of _them _became a Guardian. And so Anzu became a Lady. A second name was given to her: Anhurit, her family got a lavish house in Het-ka-Ptah, their capital city, and the most important part of the whole deal - she could see Prince Atem each day.

While on typical training days and in studies she felt acceptable in her own eyes, it was the festivals that brought her spirits down. As a mere commoner at birth, having received the title of a Lady because of other circumstances, her spot at the table was always one of the farthest from the Pharaoh and the Prince, even Mana was much closer than her. But Mana was born a Lady, Mai was a Marquise and Kisara was a Lady of the Moon. They were of a different rank. And any time she tried to converse with the Prince at the festivals, the gazes and whispers of the court ladies always reminded her: she was only a piece of coal, unlike the shining emeralds and sapphires.

But here on the_ Moon_ she was a _Sailor Soldier_. She was not a _mere_ commoner. Here she could easily talk with Atem without the court ladies glaring at her disapprovingly. Here she was on the same level of respect. There were few worlds in space that didn't respect a Sailor Soldiers.

As Anzu passed another large mirror from the floor to the ceiling, she nervously glanced into it. Dressed in apricot-pink dress made of finest chiffon material that flowed with her as she moved through the crowds of the nobles, the golden Egyptian tiara and wristbands further accentuating the golden tan, which glowed as opposed to the pale white luminescent skin of the Lunarians - she looked around once more. The ball had long since begun and Prince Atem was supposed to be here. But he still hadn't been announced. So where was he?

The herald announced the arrival of Princess Serenity and Princess Hotaru. And right after them he announced the arrival of Prince Atem. The pretty brunette's head whipped around, as she eagerly viewed the grand staircase from which the royalties descended to the Grand Hall. There came Atem: he only grew more handsome with years. It was no surprise that Anzu's crush not only grew, but became a full-fledged love lingering on the edge of obsession. The brunette started making her way towards Atem, as he was descending the stairs, and then she noticed how fixated his gaze was on one person. Her eyes followed the line of his gaze and she froze. _This never happened before_. Yet, here he was: the intense red of his eyes fixed on the back of Princess Serenity, who was obliviously descending the same stairs hand in hand with her sister - the white and violet silk of their dresses intermingled and glided with their soft steps, the blue eyes of the Lunarian princess shone with mirth and joy, as the soft wind coming from the open windows and balconies of the Grand Hall gently moved her long golden tresses.

And Anzu faltered in her tracks.

Because Princess Serenity was on a whole different level of unreachable just like her mother Queen Selenity. And flushed in embarrassment the pretty brunette fled the ballroom.

* * *

Serenity giggled nervously feeling the heated gaze of Prince Atem on her back. Without a doubt he was kind of angry with her for sneaking out of the castle when the official welcoming ball was held. As soon as she descended the stairs, the golden-haired princess made her way into the crowd, glancing behind she noted Atem following her, yet quickly surrounded by the noble ladies. They would keep him busy for a while.

Princess Serenity giggled once more as she navigated through the crowd politely greeting other royal families and graciously curtsying in reply to other nobles greeting her. If she was lucky she could perhaps avoid Atem until he calmed down and perhaps she would invite him to a dance, and quite possibly she would avoid Shizukesa if she were lucky.

But of course her fortune didn't last long, as she managed to trip over her long dress and started falling towards. Bracing herself for the pain, the shame of pulling someone down with her or spilling someone's drink on them, Serenity closed her eyes. Yet, her fall lasted a mere moment, as warm hands held her tightly by the shoulders.

"It is a pleasure to meet you once more, Princess Serenity," spoke a familiar voice and Serenity felt the corners of her lips tugging upwards. So he was here! The warm hands released her and Serenity whirled around, smiling brightly at the white-haired prince from the Black Moon family of Nemesis.

"Prince Diamond, the pleasure is all mine," she curtsied gently gazing back at him, "How are your peace negotiations coming along?"

"They're moving along quite fine," smiled Prince Diamond wearily, as Serenity patted him comfortingly on the back. The prince had to deal with the same kind of bigotry she had to face each day.

"I am glad. I sincerely hope Nemesis will be able to join the Alliance," she murmured. Without a doubt the noble Prince of the Black Moon was tired of the constant sweet-talking he had to do to convince the Council to let Nemesis join the Silver Alliance.

"Yet the prejudice is still strong," scoffed Diamond.

"It shall always stay," replied Serenity gloomily as group of court ladies, whom she had often seen in the company of Shizukesa passed them with dark looks upon their face. One of them glanced ominously at Prince Diamond's black moon mark and then the gaze shifted to her. The princess met the woman's gaze evenly - her face set straight and the lady turned back to her companions furiously whispering something.

"You are no stranger to this intolerance yourself this time around," mentioned Prince Diamond as his eyes followed the movement of the court ladies who occasionally were glancing back at them. Serenity looked back at him.

"This time around?" she cocked her head to the side, blinking.

The white-haired prince jumped slightly, "Eh, that is only a way of speaking on Nemesis," he quickly replied.

"Ah, I see," spoke Serenity, paying no more heed to the strange phrase, "but yes you are correct. No doubt the ladies are discussing that the child of the devil is conversing with another of her kind," scoffed the golden-haired girl looking away, slightly flushed. This was one of the reasons why she had to become the queen. She would not allow this kind of attitude anymore. She would put an end to the discrimination. No longer would dark powers, just dark not evil, be regarded in the same light as Nehelenia or Metallia. But the road to the throne was hard and her Aunt and Cousin always tried to trip her on the way there.

A warm feeling upon her hand suddenly jolted her from her thoughts back to the reality, Prince Diamond was kneeling on one knee, his lips pressed to the back of her hand.

"Do not let them ever tarnish your brightness," he murmured gently, causing the young princess to blush furiously, as the beautiful young man intently looked at her. His violet eyes were so deep. They were as if pulling her in. Though she was quite young, she knew that the white-haired prince didn't consider her just a friend. But she couldn't give him what he desired the most.

"Prince Diamond…" the words left her mouth, the princess very unsure of what she was to say to this prince.

"I shall always be your faithful vassal," he spoke earnestly. His hands were very warm, in contrast to the cold colours of his outfit, eyes and hair.

"Prince Diamond," spoke suddenly a low husky voice behind them. The princess quickly retreated her hand, as Prince Diamond stood up. Behind them stood Sailor Pluto, Queen Setsuna of Pluto, garbed in her form fitting black strapless dress, the symbol of Pluto blazing on her forehead.

"Puu! You joined us," exclaimed Serenity relieved that the uncomfortable situation was alleviated.

"Now, Princess, that is not following the protocols," scolded Setsuna with a light grin upon her face. Serenity blushed once more, quickly curtsying to the older woman.

"Ah, sorry, Queen Setsuna," she spoke quietly nervously glancing back at Diamond, who was standing straight cautiously observing the Queen of Pluto.

"It's alright. I don't mind. I just don't want them to talk about you badly," murmured Queen Setsuna, quietly so as to not let others hear them, Serenity smiled brightly to her advisor and then Setsuna's garnet gaze shifted to her companion: "Prince Diamond, the Queen wishes to speak with you privately."

Prince Diamond's face slightly fell, but then he smiled brightly at Serenity, "Princess, may you honour me later perhaps with a dance?" The previous look, which had unsettled Serenity was gone from his face, and now he looked just as usual: like Diamond one of her good friends.

"I would love to, Prince Diamond," smiled Serenity as she skipped away, not noticing the deep feeling of melancholy that settled in on Prince Diamond as she left.

"This time around I can be her friend," he whispered, his lips still warm from the touch of her skin against them.

"Yes, you may be," spoke suddenly the one he knew as Sailor Pluto, and in this life also as Queen Setsuna of Pluto, the closest planet of the Silver Alliance to Nemesis, "but do not forget: her destiny shall always lie with another one," though her voice was calm, the Prince of the Black Moon knew a warning when he heard one.

"I know," he replied, his voice soft and wistful, he glanced back at the green-haired queen, "Though I find it quite strange, that you speak to me as though we have met before, even though I have met you already, but you shall only yet meet that me in the future," it was really funny how time worked around. This was his second life, yet it was _their _first one.

"I am the Soldier of Time for that reason," smirked Setsuna.

"The ever watchful guardian of the princess." At his words the garnet-eyed woman met his gaze.

"She is our hope and light," she spoke seriously, "And it is my duty to guide and protect her. I hope that this time around you won't mess up, Prince Diamond."

A dry laugh escaped the mouth of the Black Moon Prince, "Do you honestly think that I would mess up when this time around she can at least look at me without that anger. If she can just keep smiling, I will be happy, even if she is happy with another one."

He grabbed two glasses of wine from the tray of a passing servant, graciously offering the second one to Setsuna. His wine glass immediately ended in his stomach, as he dumped the contents into his mouth, as Setsuna silently sipped the wine, observing him.

"You have grown up," finally she said, a strange look settled upon her face.

"And you are not that cold, distant person yet," replied Diamond warmly.

"I only fear that I shall become one soon," spoke Setsuna, and just as she finished her wine. Before he could ask what she meant by that, the queen grabbed his elbow with a soft smile, "Shall we? It would not do well to be late," she said kindly.

The prince chuckled, running his free hand through his hair, "Of course, Queen Setsuna."

And the clashing pair went off: one clad in the whitest of white, pale skin and hair, the other clad in the blackest of black, tan skin and dark hair – the crowds parted in front of them, some out of fear, some out of awe for the Queen of Pluto and the Prince of Nemesis were absolutely stunning.

* * *

A cheerful blonde stretched from her spot at one of the balconies, as her gaze followed the retreating back of Prince Diamond and Queen Setsuna. "Ah, it's so beautiful. Love is in the air, I can feel it," she breathed in deeply, twirling around: the golden layers of the transparent lace flowed along with the yellow silk of her dress. Her dark-haired companion raised his eyes from the vast gardens of the Moon Palace.

"Princess Minako?"

The Golden Princess of Venus giddily skipped over pointing towards a blue-haired pair in the ballroom, "Look at that. Prince Sapphire is so cute dancing with Princess Ami. They really suit each other. Both are shy and very smart. I knew they would hit off," she chirped.

Her dark-haired companion, the Prince of Elysion, the wielder of Gaia's crystal, Prince Endymion frowned as he glanced at them: he knew very well of the stories of Nemesis. Some said it was a planet of darkness created eons ago and that a dark spirit lived within its core. And as the Prince of Elysion and the appointed Guardian of the Earth, he was quite worried about their application to the Silver Alliance. Of course if Queen Selenity deemed them worthy then there would be nothing he could do about it. Though he honestly hoped the queen would do the right judgment. Darkness had been rising everywhere. He glanced at his intended, the beautiful Princess of Venus and suddenly all rational thoughts disappeared from his mind.

"Doesn't it bother Princess Ami that they're from Nemesis?" he deadpanned. The blonde girl looked up, her blue eyes narrowed as they burned through him, and inwardly Endymion smacked his own face. He did it now. Why did he always mess up?

"Does it bother you? Perhaps it bothers you that Serenity and Hotaru are from Saturn?" bit out Princess Minako angrily.

"Of course it doesn't. It's just that…" stumbled Endymion, loosing his composure, as he tried to explain his absolutely pathetic stumble to his fiancée.

"Perhaps you thought I am just as shallow as my cousin Shizukesa _(2)_?" growled Minako advancing on him, her eyes furiously glowing: the golden symbol on her forehead pulsing, oh yes, she was very angry.

"No, I wouldn't dare to…" mumbled the Earth Prince humbly, hoping that the blonde maiden would calm down and not bring _that _much attention to them. He could feel the heated gazes of the guests upon his back, as he was backing away from the furious leader of Soldiers of Four Guardian Deities.

"That's horribly rude of you, Prince Endymion! Thinking that I am just like them," growled the golden-haired princess, pushing past him, yet he caught her hand, trying to find the words how to explain to her that each time he glanced at her… he…

"Princess Minako, please wait!" he pleaded pulling her away from the doors to the balcony, not wishing for the gossiping mouths to hear things for them to talk about,

"You Terrans are all just haughty and think too much of your own ideas of the world, never looking outside the box," argued his fiancée not paying any heed to his words, "Serenity may be of Saturn, but she is the brightest person I have ever the pleasure of knowing," she exclaimed with a huff, pulling away from him and crossing her hands.

"I know, it's just that…" weakly protested the earth prince.

"What?" Her blue eyes were glaring at him. Her pink lips set in a tight frown and even if she was absolutely furious with him, she still looked so… The earth prince nervously licked his lips.

"It's just that I sometimes fail to find a topic to speak with you upon!" he exclaimed. And as her face was becoming redder with each passing second he knew he messed up once more. And Princess Minako blew up.

"So now you're saying I'm too stupid to talk about anything important, except the shallow gossips of the palace?"

And she stormed away, leaving Endymion alone on the balcony to the snickers of the onlookers as a bright-red handprint was swelling upon his cheek.

"Minako, please wait!" he reached out for her.

"It's Princess Minako of Venus to you, Prince Endymion! I hate the fact that I'm engaged to you! I hope you get stomped by an elephant!" was the last echo of her words, as she disappeared in the crowd. Meeting with a prideful look the amused gazes of the ladies and lords, Endymion turned away shaking his head slightly, as he rubbed his aching cheek.

"Why do I always get the frisky ones?" sighing the prince leaned against the balcony ledge. The gardens looked so calm and inviting. Endymion cast one glimpse behind, and as soon as he was sure no one was looking, leaped down from the balcony and away from the crowd.

It was not his fault his betrothed was a spitfire, who constantly gave him headaches.

* * *

Hotaru sighed for the millionth time during this whole ordeal. Usually she spent the balls with her sister, after having come to an unsaid agreement that being together without dance partners was an easier way to deal with all those condescending looks from the others. But as soon as they had arrived at the bottom of the stairs Serenity ran off with Prince Atem trying to follow her, and she had been stuck alone every since then. She had tried to find the other Sailor Soldiers but so far without any luck. She was used for the occasional fear, sometimes disgust, but at such events it was usually at a much greater scale.

Another whispered insult. Hotaru glared darkly at the one, who dared to speak badly abut her: _she hated them all_.

A glass of wine was dumped down her throat. This would end up in a terrible headache later, and it wasn't really correct of her to drink at her age, but this was exactly what she needed right now. As she set down the empty wine glass on a table, a hand was extended towards her.

"May I have this dance, Princess Hotaru?" asked a pleasant low male voice. She turned to the speaker, only to drown in violet _(3) _eyes the same colour as her own. His face was unlike the pale visage most people here possessed: just as tan as the people of Kemet – yet his hair was white and spiky. For a second Hotaru considered whether to accept his offer, as she looked at the smirking stranger. And for some reason she nodded, taking his offered hand immediately whisked off to fast waltz.

"So, what is the name of my dashing partner who stole me away from the silly palace gossips," she asked.

"Now that's something for me to know and for you to find out," replied the young man cryptically.

"I could very well order you to answer me," noted dryly the black-haired princess.

"But you won't," replied the youth with a chuckle.

"What makes you so sure of that?" she challenged.

"Because it would ruin all the fun," murmured the stranger.

A smirk crossed Hotaru's pale lips, "I will humour you, even though I shouldn't. So what should I call you?"

"Call me, Ra." Their violet eyes met and something stirred within Hotaru. Something which she always tried to hide from everyone. This part of her: the Silence. She pushed the sensation away.

"Ra? As in the Sun God?" she inquired.

"Though I am nothing but a mere servant hiding in his shadow," grinned the youth who identified himself as Ra.

* * *

Rei giggled as her eyes spotted a very amusing sight in the crowd of some ladies. There was Prince Atem, cooed at, touched by the ladies, and well: any man would have liked it, but Atem looked as if he had swallowed a bunch of frogs and was now forced to eat slugs. Her brunette fellow Soldier chuckled lightly as she lightly strolled towards the crowd of girls and women.

"Hello, Prince Atem," she said.

"Princess Makoto, Princess Isis," grit out Atem as once more another lady, tried to plant a kiss on his cheek begging him to dance with her. The moment the Crown Prince of Kemet mentioned their names the women around him seemed to remember the nature of the event and some manners.

"Excuse us, ladies, there are issues the Prince must speak to us about," giggled Rei, as she grabbed Atem's hand and dragged him away from the weakly protesting admirers.

A bit away from the place of the incident, Atem breathed out a sigh of relief and nodded to Rei and Makoto, "Thanks for saving me"

"Though we were quite tempted to let them torture you for a bit longer. You're quite popular with them," teased Rei lightly, earning a half-earnest glare from her friend.

"I dislike their presence near me," growled Atem lowly, causing quite a few bystanders to jump away.

"Scary, scary, Atem, don't make such a face," chirped Makoto, waving her hand at him chuckling sheepishly.

"I can now see the Prince of Golden Darkness in you. But still you must understand them," spoke Rei, and then she winked, "It's not everyday they see such a young man as if made of gold. And covered in gold to boot."

"That annoys me the most," deadpanned Atem, his face pale from her words and their implication.

"Ah, then you must go find Hotaru. She will without a doubt agree with you upon the view of the palace ladies," said Makoto childishly smacking him on the back. The prince coughed from the impact of the strong Soldier's smack and stumbled towards, elegantly hiding his misstep. As he glanced to the side a familiar blonde was conversing with that annoying girl he met earlier.

"Is that Lady Mai with, what was her name again, Shizukesa?" he asked darkly.

"Yes, it is," replied Rei quietly. Makoto followed their gaze and there was their fellow Sailor Soldier immersed in a friendly chat with the silver-haired witch.

"I didn't know that she was friends with Shizukesa," he murmured dryly. Makoto blinked in surprise, how come he didn't know that Mai… and then she promptly smacked herself on the forehead. Of course he didn't know!

"Oh, I guess you didn't know then," she spoke, "Mai harbours a dislike for Princess Serenity."

"I didn't know that…" The prince looked away from the two women.

"But of course she wisely holds her tongue. After all, it's not secret that her future King could be quite well be the future husband of her current Princess," mentioned the brunette offhandedly, delighting in how quickly the Prince turned back to her, blushing and spurting some nonsense.

"Princess Makoto!" was all he managed to crack out, causing the Jupiter Princess to chuckle once more. He was amusing.

"What? I didn't say anything weird!" she defended.

"Is that a blush upon your face?" taunted Rei, flicking the Prince's nose, as he indignantly backed off from them.

"Isis, stop saying ridiculous things! It's absolutely impossible for me to blush," glowered the Golden Prince.

"You can't fool me," sang Rei, as she giggled once more. The prince turned away scoffing the blush still obvious on his face.

"Oh dear, Lady Shizukesa is coming over here," suddenly spoke the Mars Princess, and as the emerald-eyed Princess turned, she saw Lady Shizukesa curtsying in front of the Prince, her light grey eyes guardedly observing the red-eyed royalty.

"Greetings Prince Atem," she spoke sweetly

"Lady Shizukesa," curtly spoke Atem, nodding to her.

"I am surprised you know my name. I didn't know they taught that much politics to you down on Earth," she noted, sarcasm slightly dripping from her words, and before he could reply scathingly, she offered him a hand, "Let me introduce myself properly. I am Lady Shizukesa of Mare Nubium, Countess of Arzachel, would you honour me with a dance?"

For a second Atem seemed to be eager to deny her request, but then again it was unheard of denying a lady's request, and so he nodded coldly to her, "As you wish."

The two circled away in a dance leaving the dumbfounded Makoto and Rei blinking. Shrugging both turned around to grab another glass of punch only to see a familiar white-clad golden-haired form frozen over in the distance, the people moving around her as only she stood still as if under a spell.

"Oh dear, is that Serenity over there?" asked Rei, and the spell was broken, the girl ran off. Makoto looked back, where Shizukesa during another twirl in the dance triumphantly smirked. "Damn that, Shizukesa," whispered the brunette angrily.

* * *

Of course. How silly. Prince Atem must have protected her from the disgrace in front of the council because he had to have a good relationship with her mother. Why else? After all, no one liked irresponsible princesses, like her. Serenity huffed, he could have said so in the beginning: he could have not gone with her outside. Perhaps Rei was wrong about him.

"Why are you standing here all alone?" Serenity didn't look up at the prince. She would have recognized his voice anywhere. This was Malik.

"I'm not alone. I am just thinking," she muttered dejectedly. And she thought that Atem was different. Because Rei told her all the stories of that prince, she really wanted to meet him. But he obviously liked graceful, respectable girls.

"Don't tell me you don't want to dance?" asked the blond prince, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Serenity laughed humourlessly.

"Who would dance with the daughter of the Bloodletting King. I guess only Prince Sapphire or Prince Diamond would. Even Prince Atem is dancing with Shizukesa at the moment," she glanced up at him, dimly noted how her lavender-eyed friend was ominously observing her silver-haired cousin, who was in the middle of a pirouette.

"Then shall I?" she looked back at him, the High Priest was smiling widely, offering his hand to her.

"Aren't you afraid of tarnishing your reputation, High Priest Malik?" she teased lightly, accepting his offer. And the moment she grabbed his hand, the Martian Prince pulled her closer, his lavender eyes burning with a promise:

"I will bring anyone to their knees who wants to speak badly about you,"

The Princess froze, "Malik…"

The next second her companion smiled widely, alleviating all her worries: "Shall we?"

"Yes, of course."

The pair stepped lightly to the soothing melody, their movements completely synchronized. The sandy-haired prince stepped away twirling the princess, delighting in the envious glances from others, as she laughed vibrantly.

"See, just don't mind the others and keep on showing that smile to me, Princess," he chuckled, pulling her back into his embrace. Yet, Serenity glanced again to the side where Prince Atem was dancing with Lady Shizukesa. Her face fell again.

"Stop looking over that way," scolded the prince.

"Why is Shizukesa so pretty?" asked Serenity suddenly. The pair slowed down in their dance.

"What made you say that?" quietly questioned Malik.

"I surely thought Prince Atem would dance with me," Serenity lowered her gaze to their feet, "but he is dancing with her." The High Priest glanced back at the pair, whom Serenity seemed keen on observing, and frowned in displeasure. He was pretty much sure that the Prince wasn't delighted by her company, and for some reason Malik was absolutely sure that Shizukesa came up to the Kemetian prince in spite of Serenity.

"You are so much better than that fake glass doll," he assured his partner.

"Yet, he is dancing with her," murmured the princess.

Malik glanced back at Shizukesa, who caught his gaze and smirked triumphantly; sending a contemptuous glare to the maiden, he turned his attention back to Serenity and smiled encouragingly to her.

'_Just don't pay any heed to them, just keep on smiling forever.'_

* * *

The silver-haired maiden was smiling at him in a delightfully sweet way, or so she thought. He saw through her intentions as if looking through clear mountain water.

"So how do you find your stay on the Moon?" inquired Lady Shizukesa politely.

"It's very nice. I like the Moon Kingdom very much," bit out Atem, trying not to step away from the wench that made him feel so very enraged. He couldn't refuse her dance invitation, and he knew why she came up to him at that time.

"But I see that our irresponsible Princess got you into trouble already," Shizukesa noted haughtily.

"It was nothing horrible," spoke the prince through his teeth. If only he was back in his land. If he was there he could have her whipped for speaking like this about Serenity. But the Silver Alliance was a kingdom, which denied punishments for such behaviour.

"Surprisingly. She is really quite a disgrace," dryly spoke the silver-haired girl, her cobalt-grey eyes dull and without the sparkle the Sailor Soldiers he met possessed. And of course Serenity… she had nothing on her. His red-eyes narrowed, as for a second he let himself loose, the dark powers of his pulsing in sync with his anger.

"I would advise you to watch you mouth, Lady Shizukesa. Princess Serenity, is my intended after all," he growled softly so as not to bring attention of unwanted gossip-monkeys.

"Just as I guessed," scoffed Shizukesa, taking a step back as the song ended, "the rumours are true. You are a same kind of abomination like her. And you should watch your step," she paused for a second, then drawling out _that _name, slowly, deliberately, "_Yami_. After all, the throne of the Moon Kingdom shall never fall into your hands after all." She turned around to leave.

But the prince would not let her leave that way, his hand shot out, grabbing her forearm, and just as she turned back at him, fury burning beneath the dull color of her eyes, "Don't think for a moment that I didn't notice you coming over here only after Serenity wanted to come over to me. Your petty jealousy is really pathetic. A lady doesn't behave like a nefarious jezebel, falling over the men of her rival."

He let go, and mockingly bowed to the lady, "A pleasant night to you, Shizukesa."

"It's Lady Shizukesa to you, Atem!" she whispered furiously, and then froze, as he looked over at her. The anger, which he had contained all this single song, was treading close to the surface and without a doubt his red eyes were now blood-red, as they always were when his rage was bubbling close to the surface.

"It's Your Highness, Prince Atem to you. I am a Living God," he hissed in a low voice and with a swish of his cape left to search for the golden-haired princess, whom he still had to catch since their escapade to the city.

'_Where is she now?'_

* * *

The cool wind from the outside dome ruffled her blonde hair, and the violet-eyed girl closed them in delight. She always loved the Moon, and she hated the Earth. Well, not that she disliked the planet, it was beautiful in it's own right, but Kemet was just too hot and scorching for her. And to think that her destiny would be to live there once. Her silver-haired childhood friend stomped up next to her angrily, which was rather unexpected since Shizukesa was usually calm, collected, lady-like – Mai's eyes shifted to the dance floor where the Princess was laughing merrily alongside with the High Priest. Neither she, nor Malik really cared about the appearances and the manners the nobles should uphold.

"Is everything alright Shizukesa?" Her friend turned back to her, growling angrily, yet still quietly enough not to attract unwanted attention.

"No, it is not! That brat of a prince dared to insult me! He called me a jezebel!" she hissed enraged as she glanced back to the crowd of people in the grand hall.

"Which brat of a prince?" Mai blinked. No one would dare to insult Shizukesa and on the Moon to boot. She was the niece of the queen after all.

"Atem!" bit back Shizukesa.

Mai blinked and then the situation dawned on her, "Oh, I wouldn't advise you to mess with him…" she trailed off, hoping her friend wouldn't snap at her for this.

"And why is that, _Guardian of the Shadow Realm – Mai? _Because you would have to punish me?" growled Shizukesa. Ouch, now that hurt. The girl knew perfectly well how Mai disliked the fact that she was appointed as Sailor Tori, how she hated the idea of leaving the Silver Alliance for Kemet in the end and serving not her own people. And still she used that fact against her.

"Ah, I care less for that duty," muttered Mai, her glance shifted back to the crowd of guests, where she could easily spot Atem making his way towards Malik and Serenity, "I said so because, although Prince Atem is just and carefree, he has a side to him we try to avoid from bringing up. He is the future master of the Shadow Realm. And it shows often," she had come upon _that _side of his a couple times. And she wasn't particularly pleased with the experience. Shizukesa sneered in reply:

"Like I said before, he's just the same kind of abomination like Serenity is! And to think that brat will rule the Silver Alliance!" She wanted to say something else, but out to the balcony stepped a familiar blonde general with electric green eyes.

"Oh, quiet, the War General Jou is coming. He would have your head for treason if he heard you like that!" whispered Mai quickly and this time Shizukesa held her temper in check.

"Hello ladies. Lady Shizukesa. Marquess Mai," the War General bowed to them.

"War General Jou, to what do we owe this pleasure?" inquired Lady Shizukesa politely.

"Perhaps Marquise Mai would honour me with a dance, that is what I hoping for," a grin made its way to the blond's face, as he winked at the blonde marquise.

"Not in this life!" snapped back Mai, fighting to contain the flush that started making its way to her cheeks. He was always embarrassing her. Always chasing her. He was always there with his cheesy declarations of love! Why would she need such a useless man!

"Marquess Mai, that is not a suitable behaviour for a lady of your rank."

The trio turned to the doors, where a silver-haired woman, of whom Shizukesa seemed to be a clone off, stood primly. Her facial lines were set straight and showed nothing, but Mai knew better.

"Duchess Miriam," all three bowed lowly to the woman.

"War General Jou is a very important person," chided Miriam, "Perhaps you should humour him and spin a couple dances on the dance floor with him," spoke the Duchess dismissively.

"Of course, Duchess Miriam," bit out Mai through closed teeth as she took Jou's hand and led him to the dance floor. Miriam simply needed a way to get her away from her daughter. Although the Duchess knew of her political views, the stigma of being a Shadow Soldier was enough reason for Mai not to be friends with Shizukesa anymore, in the Duchess's eyes.

"Hah, sorry, I know you don't like me, and now you're stuck dancing with me," laughed the War General sheepishly, as he gracefully led her in the polonaise rhythm.

"Oh, shut up," snapped back Mai. If the general would now just shut up. But of course he continued, and with such an embarrassing thing:

"But, I must say, Mai, you are very beautiful, I like you very much." Her breath hitched at his soft-spoken words. The beautiful blonde stomped as inconspicuously as she could on his leg, furiously whispering back to him, the blush staining her tanned cheeks red: "What kind of rubbish are you sprouting now. Hold your tongue and dance."

"Alright, alright," quickly spoke the general, obviously scared that she would manhandle him once more, the silence lasted a few moments and then the annoying idiot spoke up once more: "But dare I presume that somewhere in the depths of your heart you like me as well, dearest Marquise Mai?"

Her eyes flashed in anger, "War General, I will trash you into the ground the next time we train," she promised grimly. Yet the blond man just laughed heartily.

"Alright, alright. Shutting my mouth now."

* * *

He was enjoying another dance with his dearest Serenity, when a dark voice interrupted their steps: "May I intrude?"

Prince Malik whirled around, ready to give a taste of his mind to the one daring to interrupt his dance: he wasn't the High Priest of the Moon and the Prince of Mars for nothing. Yet he met the even gaze of the red-eyed tanned man, Serenity nervously shifted behind him. A glimpse at her confirmed that she was fumbling with her dress, as she usually did when nervous, and looking strictly at the spot on the ground straight in front of her.

"Prince Atem. Weren't you dancing with Lady Shizukesa?" she asked quietly. The Prince of Kemet blinked in surprise and then started chuckling, over some strange reason:

"There was something in that dance that didn't agree with my stomach. I fear she might be using some fragrance that is making bile rise up to my throat."

Malik couldn't suppress the snort. While he certainly understood the hidden implication, but the Prince of Kemet was correct, Lady Shizukesa did use an astonishingly atrocious perfume. Something that smelled of the sickly sweet meadow flower, not refreshing at all.

"How horribly cruel, Prince Atem. You shouldn't say such things," cried out Serenity in distress, glancing around quickly, hoping that no one heard this. The red-eyed prince laughed once more and then turned back to him. Lavender and red clashed, as both young men stood still, as if judging each other. Unconsciously Malik's grip on Serenity's hand tightened.

"Ouch, Malik, be careful," scolded Serenity quickly retrieving her hand from his grip. The moment of tension dissipated and the High Priest half-bowed to the Prince of Kemet.

"You wanted to dance with the Princess. I shall allow your intrusion once. It's rarely that I meet someone who agrees with me upon Lady Shizukesa's fragrance," his lavender eyes glinted in challenge.

"I am most gracious," bowed back the foreign prince, "Since inviting Serenity to a dance was exactly what I had in my mind, before Lady Shizukesa rudely interrupted my pleasant evening."

As Atem extended his hand to Serenity, the golden-haired princess uncertainly accepted it, glancing back quickly at Malik, that innocent gesture endeared the moon princess even more to him, "Malik, is it really alright," she implored.

The sandy-haired prince nodded, waving her off towards the dance floor.

"Oh don't worry. Didn't you want to dance with Prince Atem."

As he made his way past Atem to the other side of the hall, where he had caught a glimpse of his sister, Malik paused for a moment in his strides, and in a low voice, so that only Atem could hear, he murmured to his new rival: "Don't you dare make her sad. I will have your head otherwise."

Serenity felt so giddy. So happy. She could find out more about her new friend. And he didn't like Shizukesa. He was just _forced _to dance with her. As a giggle fell from her lips, the taller youth looked down at her, one eyebrow elegantly raised. Serenity mirthfully shook her head, as they swayed to the music in silence for a while.

"So what was it with that shy look when I came by," asked Atem suddenly and Serenity fought back a flush. Oh really, she had been so silly. She should have believed Rei's words and his own, instead of listening to her own little paranoia.

"Oh, it was nothing really. Nothing," laughed the girl sheepishly.

"But…" started Atem arguing.

"It was nothing, Prince Atem. Just my silliness got the best of me," insisted the princess hoping the prince would drop the issue. Otherwise she would be very embarrassed if she had to explain the situation to him. He would be disappointed in her lack of belief in his own words.

"Ah, alright." The blonde princess let out a sight of relief. The soft sounds of piano, played by Princess Haruka, and the soothing melody created by the talented hands of Princess Michiru carried them away to the world of sea on Neptune, or the windy tundra of Uranus. The dream dissolved when a flash of silvery-grey hair caught her attention, as her tentative stare met the steely glare of her Aunt. Quickly the princess turned back to her partner.

"You really shouldn't be saying mean stuff about Shizukesa. She can make your life hell here," said Serenity.

"Then I shall have her head," promised Atem.

"What?" gasped Serenity.

"And I will have her head if she ever speaks about people I like badly once more," his declaration sent her into another blush.

The princess shook her head, to clear the confusing thoughts out of there, "But, you can't do that," she insisted. A small smile was awarded to her.

"I am a Living God. Do you trust me?" inquired the young man.

"Trust you?" whispered Serenity, as the prince shook his head once more and picked up the pace of their steps, bringing her back into the illusion of the musical piece Uranus and Neptune were performing.

* * *

"How strange, brother, you rarely let Serenity out of your arms once you got her there," noted Rei as Malik came up to her with two glasses of wine.

"Rei, I have not come up for you to taunt me," seriously said her brother, "I am Serenity's servant, and if she wishes to find out more about Prince Atem, then I must humbly abide her wishes," he said not glancing back even once, where the guests had parted for the Prince of Kemet and Princess of the Moon circling in the centre of the hall, as she took one of the glasses, he dryly told her, "Isn't it the same for you and Seth. Though you are definitely not his servant."

And honestly Rei didn't find a single reason to even glare at him for the low jab he took at her. It was a well-known fact to him about _her _unrequited love, and she knew just as well of _his _unrequited love. Her eyes shifted involuntarily to the white-haired Shadow Soldier, who was happily conversing with Lady Anzu, "Yet…" she whispered, she couldn't even feel contempt for Kisara. It wasn't her fault that Seth liked her.

"Yet it certainly feels so. I guess our family must be cursed with unrequited love," marked Malik another hole in her heart.

"Give up on her, Malik. Don't be so foolish as I am," pleaded Rei, she had seen the future, she had seen what it held in store for all of them, "Your love for her shall help our ruin."

His lavender eyes glanced up in contemplation, "Was that a prophecy?" he finally asked.

"Perhaps," she whispered.

"But then you should know," he said uncertainly at first, gaining confidence in the middle, "that I shall never give up on Serenity," promised the young priest. Wit that the Prince of Mars, High Priest of the Moon left her company, no doubt to choose another vantage point from where he could observe Serenity.

"That I know very well," murmured Rei, straightening the red brocade of her dress, "This is very it all starts," her gaze shifted to the Earth which was seen in the distance, soon the darkness would catch them all, and no one would come out unscathed, she made her way to one of the deserted balconies glaring at the distant sun, where the black blotches were appearing in her mind's eye again, "I hate the gods for making me see the future that shall come and not letting me speak."

And the Martian Princess threw the half-empty glass of wine to the ground beneath the balcony. If only she could change destiny somehow. If only…

* * *

The princess giggled at another story of Kemetian training with humorous ending of course Rei had endured the young prince was telling her.

"Who is that man?" suddenly asked Atem, his gaze fixed on someone in the crowd.

"Whom do you have in mind, Prince Atem?" asked Serenity.

"The one dancing with Sailor Tori," pointed out the blonde pair Atem, "I don't reckon I have seen him yet," he noted.

"Oh, that is one of the War Generals," spoke Serenity, "It is Lord Jou of Callisto, from the Jupiter Kingdom. He is a distant relative of Makoto. He's the Lion General."

"War Generals?"

Serenity's face slightly darkened, "That title was solely reserved for father, as he was the ruler of Saturn, but after his death the position had been open for quite a while," she held her breath for a while, and then continued, "In the end they couldn't find one person suitable to replace him. They found four people."

"Who are they?"

Serenity blinked owlishly. Why was he interested in this boring stuff?

"Interested in our defence?"

It was Atem's turn to stare at her owlishly.

"I would never dream of attacking you!" he vehemently denied, earning a round of laughter from the blonde minx.

"Just teasing," she chuckled, "The other three are Duke Ryuu of Enceladus, from the Saturn Kingdom. He is over there with Makoto, he's the Dragon General" pointed out Serenity the emerald eyed, black-haired youth chatting with her dear friend, "He likes her a lot. But Makoto wants him to prove himself, even though he already is the leader of the War Generals," her eyes searched across the hall, trying to find another of the generals, "The other one is Earl Hiro of Oberon, from the Uranus Kingdom, most know him as the Gryphon General I think he is very taken with your subordinate Sailor Sennyo," said finally Serenity, having not found the brown-haired man.

"Anzu you mean?"

"Yes, yes, her."

"Well, that is comforting," grinned the prince.

"Why is that?" blinked Serenity.

"Oh, I'm not really supposed to talk," sheepishly murmured Atem, glancing back, suddenly very uncomfortable.

"No, now that you began," insisted the princess impishly. He caught her attention and she was curious now.

"Well, Anzu fancies me…" he deadpanned, looking to the side, seemingly awkward.

"Oh." Serenity looked down. Of course. Sailor Sennyo was a very talented healer and a defence warrior, no wonder she took a liking to her prince. Perhaps they were even a good match.

"But I don't like her that way," spoke quickly the prince. Involuntarily a grin made its way to the young maiden's face.

"I see. So you hope that she will switch her affections to him?" she concluded. The prince nodded and then narrowed his eyes at her.

"Was that just satisfaction I saw upon your face, Princess?" he drawled out. Serenity stumbled back.

"Why would you think so? Prince Atem! That is ridiculous!" she heatedly whispered. And the red-eyed youth broke out in laughter, not minding the furious blush on Serenity's pale cheeks.

"What's so funny?" she whined, hitting him on the shoulder. The prince wiped a stray tear from the corner of his eyes, suppressing the remaining chuckles.

"Nothing much," he assured warmly staring at her, "You said that there four generals, but you mentioned only three."

Serenity gulped as the look he gave her, made her feel skittish and feverish, having an effect on her unlike of Diamond or Malik, she stuttered nervously, "The last one, you've met him already." Atem raised an eyebrow and Serenity sighed in exasperation.

"Prince Malik, the High Priest. He is after all the Prince of Mars. His name is the Phoenix General So he know his war-related-stuff-thingies…" trailed off the girl.

"Ah, I see. Are you close?" the sudden question caught her unaware.

"We're best friends," she said after a moment of silence, "He's always there for me," she spoke brightly. For a moment she thought the prince didn't believe her, but then he smiled woefully.

"It's nice to have such great friends," gone was the cheerful tone from his voice.

"Don't you have such friends too?" inquired Serenity curiously.

"Well, except for Isis they're separated by status from me, so…" he trailed off, as if conflicted by his own thoughts.

"You're not sure if they're truly your friends?" she offered. Atem nodded uncomfortably.

"Yes, you could say so. Though I treasure them a lot, because… I want to believe that all of them are with me, not because I am the Prince," he spoke determinedly. The princess smiled encouragingly.

"Tell me about them," she demanded mirthfully. And as Atem saw her grin he couldn't deny her request, as a similar grin made its way to his face.

* * *

Their fun time was soon cut short, as the official speeches and the boring parts of the formal welcoming ball began. First came up Queen Serenity, talking about the strength of people united and the necessary tolerance that she feels is still absent in their utopia. She was followed up by High Priest Malik, who talked about the benevolence of gods towards the people who followed the order of the universe, about the balance of light and darkness that was necessary for them.

Next came up Atem himself, as he gave his regards to the Queen for her invitation and Princess Serenity and Princess Hotaru for being his guides in this strange and elusive world. Expressing his hopes for learning much from them, he finished his speech and went back to Serenity, who was primly sitting to the right hand of her mother. To the left hand sat Hotaru. His seat, as an honoured guest was next to Serenity. On the other hand of Hotaru sat High Priest Malik. The royalties sat prim and proper as the speeches went on.

Finally the boring part was over and then everyone went to another Grand Hall, where a long table was set for all the guests. Luckily for him, his seat for next to Princess Serenity: she was already seated, smiling at him, as she nodded. Though for some reason Atem knew very well, that the princess wanted to wave over. But this was a time for proper behaviour.

"I understand why you wanted to run away from this ball now," he whispered as he sat down, allowing the servants to pour him some wine.

"You act as if it is different in your country, that you do not have to suffer the boring speeches, the simpering flatterers," noted Serenity in the same quiet voice, "I find it hard to believe, Prince Atem," she spoke.

"Must we stick to the honorifics even here?" asked Atem with a small grin.

"Unless we want to give the court a reason to spread rumours, yes we must stick," muttered Serenity evenly returning the glare of Lady Shizukesa who was seated in the middle of the table, much, much further from the head of the table, where they sat.

"Alright then, Princess Serenity," chuckled Atem, "and in answer to your previous question, you will find your visit to my palace very frivolous." The princess looked at him, tilting her head to the side like a curious kitten.

"Even so? Tell me about your balls and receptions."

"Well…" Atem began, "even if it is an official reception of some royalty visiting our country, the official chit-chat is left for closed doors, with no parties involved," it was after all logical, though such balls were no doubt useful, if needed to get someone drunk and then to agree to some deal, "We do not mix a ball with political games, like here most do," he spoke, "Though some in our courts try to use the balls for their own needs, but most just let go and enjoy the party."

"That's nice," nodded Serenity thoughtfully.

"The musicians on our parties do not act as stiff as your musicians," contemplated Atem, as he reminded himself of the primly dressed from head to toe musicians, "Also… they wear much less clothing. Usually the musicians are women and they wear almost nothing just like the dancers," he said turning back to Serenity. And noting her flushed horrified face the prince wondered what did he say wrong.

"Almost nothing!" exclaimed Serenity as quietly as she could, "But that is inappropriate!" she spoke her blush deepening, "Plus, you are not by much older than me! You are fifteen?"

"I am sixteen," replied the prince.

"So, you are still young," insisted the blue-eyed princess, "How can they allow you to visit such festivities?" Atem frowned. Her outrage was kind of confusing. What was wrong with their festivities?

"Well, I am adult by the laws of my land," he noted, "and father is even pressuring me already to find a suitable wife or at least concubine," and with that the young princess paled, then blushed, then paled again, and then she became as red a ripe tomato Atem briefly wondered if that was alright and healthy, as the princess seemed to be frozen in shock. As he tried to take her hand, she quickly pulled it back.

"So, you enjoy the view of the naked female body," furiously whispered Serenity, "I didn't think you'd be such a pervert!" The prince groaned in embarrassment. She got it all wrong. It wasn't like he wanted to find a concubine. And he didn't want to find a wife. Nor did he amuse himself with the naked dancers or musicians. He was above that kind of behaviour.

"Shhh… don't be so offended by my words, princess," he spoke, "I'm not a pervert," he paused suddenly, but what if she thought he was interested in men, not in women and that was why he didn't mind the naked female bodies, he had to clear _that part_ up, "though I do find the female body beautiful."

"Atem!" hissed the princess in indignation.

"Honorifics, princess… you said yourself about them…" stuttered the prince, suddenly very anxious under that burning gaze.

"Forgive me, Prince Atem. But perhaps I am too innocent for this conversation," Serenity cut off his tirade curtly, "I find myself rather tired, so if you'd allow me to take my leave for the evening," she quickly spoke, then rising up, bowing to her mother in a quick apology and fleeing.

And Atem cursed. She… she _really misunderstood the **whole **thing!_

Queen Selenity lightly giggled at his predicament and he had a hunch she could read thoughts or was a proficient lip reader. For the rest of the night he didn't see the princess. Nor did he see her for the remainder of his week.

In fact that point annoyed him a lot, because he wasn't used to people ignoring him or avoiding him. He was the Prince of Kemet, the future Master of Shadows, for Ra's sake, and a tiny slip of a girl was easily avoiding him.

But her luck was running out. Soon she would be accompanying him and High Priest Malik to a trip to Mars.

* * *

Serenity cautiously observed from behind the bush, the training that was in session at the moment. She really wanted to forget that embarrassing situation at the evening feast at the ball, but… how could she converse lightly with a person who was so perverted! He would make her into a pervert as well! And that would be horrible! She didn't want to be a pervert before even being kissed once. No, scratch that, she didn't want to become a pervert. Period.

"Princess, aren't you supposed to be at the stables? You have your riding lessons now…"

Serenity jumped around, sheepishly laughing under Malik's calculative gaze, "Oh, hi, Malik. I'm just observing the battle."

The Prince of Mars looked over to the training grounds where the object of her interest was fighting against Sailor Uranus, and fairing quite well, if she would dare to say it. In fact, he was almost as good as Sailor Uranus and with a few more years no doubt would surpass her.

"Is that Sailor Uranus fighting against Prince Atem? He's doing quite well."

"Yes, he is," trailed off Serenity glancing upwards. As she twirled her thumbs.

The sandy-haired youth started walking up the hill towards the Sailor Soldiers and the Kemetian Prince, "Don't you want to go down and greet your friends?" he asked after noting that the princess wasn't following him. Serenity laughed nervously.

"Ah, not today. I better get going," she quickly excused herself and ran off, hoping that her friend wouldn't try to beat out the reason for her strange behaviour later.

* * *

"Well, good job, Your Highness! This was a marvellous sparring session. It's been a while since I've seen anyone give Sailor Uranus such a good beating!" applauded War General Jou, as he mirthfully laughed.

"Jou, you're planning to end up on another trip to the hospital?" growled Haruka rising from the grass, where she had been resting.

"Dearest Haruka, you know that I've been promoted. I'm now one of the three War Generals. Would it be wise to attack me?" taunted Jou easily.

"As a Sailor Soldier I'll always rank above your butt, mutt," sneered Haruka, without any ill will. Atem chuckled at the antics of the Princess Uranus and Duke Jou. This reminded him of the squabbles Seth and Mahaad allowed themselves to have sometimes. Though both were very embarrassed if caught by the other priests in the midst of these.

"Haruka, don't be rude in front of our guest," scolded her sandy-haired partner the Soldier of the Seas, "Pardon us, Prince Atem," quickly apologized Sailor Neptune waving over to the blonde general he had seen dancing with Mai at that ball, "This is Duke Jou. He is a distant relative of Sailor Jupiter."

"Pleased to meet you, Duke Jou," nodded Atem to the just arrived general.

"Nice to meet you, Prince. I am War General Jou, the head of military state. How are you enjoying your visit on the Moon," a hand was extended to him and he took it. The contrast between his tanned skin and the white skin of this man was striking, "I'm sure we'll become great friends. May our friendship outlast our death." He raised his glance and sure enough Jou was smiling brightly, his electric green eyes lit up in joy.

"Call me Atem," smiled the young prince, "Who are your friends?" he mentioned over to the other men, though he already knew their names, he couldn't just overlook the courtesy of introductions.

"This is Duke Ryuu. He may not look the part, but he is a brilliant strategist," spoke General Jou motioning over to the green-eyed black-haired man, "He's my first advisor and this is Earl Honda: he's kind of stupid, but he's loyal to the end!" laughed the General smacking the brown-haired man on the back.

"Jou! Have some respect!" growled the aforementioned man, the one he now certainly knew to be General Honda.

"For you! Never in my life!" teased General Jou the slightly shorter man.

"Oh, these rascals again!" spoke suddenly someone in an annoyed voice and as Atem turned around, he saw the quartet of the Shadow Soldiers garbed already for training.

In the front with crossed arms stood Sailor Tori, Marquess Mai. Undoubtedly it was her who spoke, expressing her annoyance with General Jou's behaviour. The tight form-fitting spandex of her outfit left little for imagination. But all the implications any man could get when watching Sailor Tori died out, when noticing the bird like claws on her hands and her feet, coupled with the wings that grew from her the sides of her arms. Her outfit was purple, the same colour as her eyes, contrasted by belts of blue. The Sailor Soldiers style collar was the same steely blue colour as the accents and in the middle of her chest was violet gem, with feathers forming a bow alike the silken bow the Solar Sailor Soldiers possessed. _(4)_

"Sailor Tori, my beloved flower in bloom!" exclaimed General Jou running towards the blonde Shadow Warrior.

"Get away from me," screeched Mai, "or else I'll rip you apart with my claws!" she exclaimed, taking off into the sky, evading his embrace.

"Hey, Atem!" exclaimed another blonde. Sailor Mahoutsukai waved over to him. Her outfit was much more modest than that of Sailor Tori. A blue suits with a helmet was accented by pink. Her Sailor Soldier collar was pink and held by a light blue crystal, which had a pink bow of ribbons.

"Hello, ladies. Mana. Kisara. Anzu," he nodded to the three Shadow Soldiers, who were staying on the ground, unlike Mai who was currently wielding her rose whip against General Jou.

"How do you like the moon?" asked Sailor Hakuryuu quietly. It was the first time he actually met the leader of his future Soldiers, Kisara, on the Moon. In fact, she barely met her in Kemet as well. She was always either training, or reading, or with Seth. Her outfit was a form-fitting armour of a strange white metal that seemed to be more like leather of some sorts. The boots and the design of the armour followed the illustrious body-lines of the terrifying dragon, whose spirit she harboured, and on top of her head was a white tiara, similar to his own crown, only a bit less elaborate.

"It is beautiful," he graciously replied, "The people here are something also. I'm enjoying my stay here. Are you here to train?"

"Yes, we are. Would you like to train also with us?" asked Anzu excitedly.

"I just finished. I think I'll go find Serenity," he replied, "There was a slight misunderstanding at the ball between us last evening. And I wish to explain myself. Maybe next time, Anzu."

Sailor Sennyo, also known to most as Anzu, had the most modest outfit of all the Sailor Soldiers. A long pink dress, topped with a typical Sailor Soldier collar, lacked the usual bow. In stead of the usual elaborate designs the Sailor Soldier outfits had, she instead had a headpiece, covered in complicated stitch work, and a mantle of a similar design, the pearl embroidery repeated on the headpiece, was repeated on the mantle as well as her boots.

The brunette Sailor Soldier stared off after Atem, as he quickly left their presence.

"Oooh!" suddenly exclaimed Sailor Mahoutsukai, the one who went by the name of Mana.

"What?" asked Kisara.

"Did you see that face?" she pointed out with an evil expression on her face.

The white-haired girl and the brunette looked at each other and shrugged. They had no idea what Mana was talking about.

"What face?" asked Sailor Sennyo.

"He got that dreamy faraway look in his eyes when he talked about Serenity," exclaimed Sailor Mahoutsukai. Sailor Hakuryuu rolled her eyes in exasperation. They were here to train, not to gossip!

"Mana, that's plain silly," cried at Sailor Sennyo, "Our Prince just doesn't fall in love in one day. He's more serious than that! And more grown up!" she insisted.

"But Anzu-chan!" whined Sailor Mahoutsukai, "Serenity is so pretty! It is so easy to fall in love with her on first sight!" she finished with a cheer. And Sailor Mahoutsukai sincerely believed that, because she thought Serenity to be the most awesome friend she ever met, who was always nice and kind to everyone, with a heart of gold. And since Mana considered Atem almost like a little brother to her, she was sincerely hoping the pair would end up together. Needless to say Mana was completely oblivious about the feelings of her other friend towards their prince. She had known once a long time ago, that Anzu had a crush on the Prince, but as time went by, and Anzu learned more and more to hide her developing feeling towards him, till eventually Mana just thought that Anzu had long since given up on him.

"On first sight…" whispered Sailor Sennyo, as she once more remembered seeing Serenity at that ball. She was becoming a fine lady. And even though Anzu was much more grownup, had more assets, Serenity was the most serious rival she had ever faced.

Suddenly hands dropped on the shoulders of the two gossiping Shadow Soldiers, and the two turned around to see their leader glowering at them, her electric blue eyes glowing angrily.

"Come on guys, stop dillydallying. Let's train!" she snapped letting them go and moving to one of the training grounds.

The two laughed nervously, "Coming, leader!"

"Feather Hurricane!" echoed the shout of Sailor Tori, as she released one of her more powerful attack at General Jou hitting him straight on.

"Tori! Stop flirting with your lover!" growled Sailor Hakuryuu. Sailor Sennyo and Sailor Mahoutsukai glanced to each other knowing that this would no doubt cause Tori to come after Hakuryuu.

"He's not my lover!" screeched Sailor Tori dashing towards Hakuryuu, who intercepted her whip with her tail as she smirked.

"Tough love… so cruel…" whined General Jou feathers stuck in his mouth, ears, clothes.

"You're such an idiot, Jou," laughed Honda, "Let me help you up!"

* * *

Rei frowned as she rounded another room where Serenity should have been, but didn't find her. Atem was searching all over the castle for Serenity, and she was nowhere. He even asked for other people, who had not much to do to help him find her. And still no one did. Which would mean that Serenity was hiding.

Rei stopped in her trek across the hallways of the palace, wondering if she would be Serenity where would no one look for her. Of course!

The black-haired princess ran through the palace towards her destination. As she slammed the door open, a blonde rabbit jumped up in fright turning around. Of course Serenity would be hiding in the rundown _library._

"Hey, Serenity. Why are you… _hiding_ here?" asked Rei with a sweatdrop, Serenity must have either messed up real bad, or she had a pretty good reason for hiding here, "Atem is searching for you."

"That's why I'm hiding! He's a pervert!" exclaimed the blonde princess quickly diving behind a shelf filled with dusty books. Dust rose from the ground. Rei coughed as the words dawned on her.

"What? Did he try anything funny?" cried out the fiery princess.

"No! But he is one!" insisted Serenity. Rei froze. This was weird. She certainly knew Atem was no pervert, especially compared to the fellow Kemetians. In fact… that guy was still a virgin, she was sure of that. The way he blushed whenever a dancer got too close to him.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Well… he enjoys the view of the naked female body?" offered Princess Serenity.

"What? Atem? You surely must be joking! That guy is still innocent, even Seto teases him about that sometimes," exclaimed Rei. Well, this was surely some kind of misunderstanding. And if everything was the same as always, Serenity probably invented some strange bizarre reason why Atem was a pervert.

"Rei!" exclaimed Serenity in horror, "You speak of this issue so freely. You must have become a pervert too!" the girl started pulling on her hair, as she cried more and more, making Rei even more annoyed with the childish antics, "Oh, the woes! If I visit Kemet, then I shall surely too become a pervert!"

"Serenity! You must be overreacting!" exclaimed Rei, she had to get to the bottom of this, "What's wrong?"

"Naked dancers! Naked dancers! That's what!" shouted Serenity. Rei froze. A vein bulged on her forehead as she tightened her lips trying to control herself. But it was really useless.

"Odango atama!" bellowed the Princess of Mars.

* * *

**End Chapter 2**

* * *

**_Chapter Notes_**

**_(1)_**_ Waset - Karnak_

**_(2)_**_ Serenity and Shizukesa are cousins, since Duchess Miriam is the sister of Queen Selenity. The King of Venus, consort to Queen of Venus is the youngest brother of Selenity and Miriam. Thus Shizukesa is cousin to Sailor Venus also._

**_(3)_**_ Bakura has violet eyes as he had in the past. That is also by what I shall be going in the present, as according to Yu-Gi-Oh! Season 0. Where Ryou Bakura's eyes changed to violet when the Thief King was in control. This also fits the present day version of Yami Yugi having red eyes, while Yugi has violet._

**_(4)_**_ The Shadow Senshi look pretty much like their card counterparts only having a Sailor Senshi style collar. Kisara's armor looks like the skin of the Blue Eyes White Dragon. And she has a tail in that form accompanied by dragon wings on her back. Her bow is like tiny dragon wings. Outfit white and pale blue. Mai's outfit is violet and navy blue, looks exactly like Harpie Ladies outfit, Sailor Senshi collar, with feathers instead of a bow. Same goes for Anzu and Mana. Mana's outfit colors blue and pink. She has the same staff Dark Magician Girl has. Anzu's outfit is colored pink and white. And looks similar to what she wore in anime as the Magician of Faith when Yami Yugi played against Yami Bakura in the Duelist Kingdom._

* * *

_Sailor Hakuryuu - Kisara. Hakuryuu means White Dragon_

_Sailor Tori - Mai. Tori means bird._

_Sailor Mahoutsukai - Mana. Mahoutsukai means magician._

_Sailor Sennyo - Anzu. Sennyo means fairy._

* * *

**_26/04/2011_**_ – Would you believe it. I slaved my ass of on this for 20 days. Because at first the initial chapter had the author note on 06/04 and today is 26/04. Bloody hell. This is disturbing. And it's so long. –cries bitter tears- And now I have to update more stories. –cries even more bitter tears-. So review. I dare you not to motivate me and I'll go commit author seppuku!_

**_EDIT: 02.07.2013 – _**_Edited mentions of Sennen to Millennium, Senshi to Soldier, updated names and titles. Changed the moment with Mana and Anzu talking about Atem developing a crush on Serenity, as someone had pointed to me out, that in a flash back in Infinitas, Mana was helping Anzu be pretty for Atem._

* * *

**If you liked this story, please review. It is really painful to write decent chapters, when there's like ight years towards the point where I at least have some canon plotline to use.**

**So, motivate the author. I mean 10 reviews per chapter is not much to ask for!**

**Review please.**

**Cheers**

**Yami Nocturna**


	4. 3: The Foreboding Future

**_24/05/2011 – _**_Well, finally, took me awhile to finish this chapter, since I was busy doodling/painting for my new deviantart account. By the way, you can check out fanart to my Sailor Moon/Yugioh crossovers on my deviantart account, which is linked from my profile, and also there are some other fanarts. But anyways, onto the story._

* * *

**Thanks to all those who reviewed/favourited/alerted this story**: **Cosmic-lover **(well, now you're up to date with this story too, so it's all good), **SailorMeowMeow **(same here, same here :D), **Krissy **(enjoy the next installment of Acheron Originis), **angel313, Kochou-hime **(well, now that you've seen the pics on my deviantart and detailed cover for Achero, I think it's much more understandable), **Anime Princess **(let Serenity be a child, soon she will have no more time to be happy), **SailorVmoon1311815,**

* * *

**Names and ages:**  
Duke **Ryuu** of Enceladus, Saturn Kingdom (Duke Devlin), Dragon General - 19  
Duke **Jou** of Callisto, Jupiter Kingdom (Joey Wheeler), Lion General - 20  
Lady **Anzu** (Anhurit) of Kemet, Sailor Sennyo (Forgiving Maiden) (Tea Gardner) - 17  
Earl **Hiro** of Oberon, Uranus Kingdom (Tristan Taylor), Gryphon General - 20  
Marquise **Mai Valentine** of Nyx Mons, Venus Kingdom, Sailor Tori (Harpie Lady) (Mai Valentine) – 21  
Lady **Kisara** of Atlas City, Moon Kingdom, Sailor Hakuryuu (Blue Eyes White Dragon) – 18  
Lady **Mana** of Kemet, Sailor Mahoutsukai (Dark Magician Girl) – 16  
Priest **Seth** – 19  
Magician **Mahaad** of Kemet - 21  
Princess **Serenity**, Princess **Hotaru** – 14 (almost 15)  
Princess **Rei-Isis**, Princess **Minako**, Princess **Ami**, Princess **Makoto** – 16  
Prince **Atem** – 16  
Thief **Bakura** – 17  
Princess **Michiru**, Princess **Haruka** – 18  
Queen **Setsuna** – 25  
Priest **Shada** - 24  
Queen **Selenity**, Duchess **Miriam** of Mare Nubium - unknown  
Prince **Diamond** – 21  
Prince **Sapphire** – 19  
Prince **Endymion** – 19  
Lady **Shizukesa**, Countess of Arzachel - 16

* * *

**A.c.h.e.r.o.n: O.r.i.g.i.n.i.s**

**Part I: Innocence**

**Chapter 3**

* * *

_At the end of the last true war, the Sailor Wars, it has been prophesized that the Sailor Soldier of the Legends shall rise up once more, and finally a wielder to the Darkness shall be born. And once he manages to control the darkness, peace will be able to be established, so that no more tragedies alike the Sailor Wars may happen once more._

* * *

Princess Serenity cringed, as the chambermaids who were brushing her hair, passed the sore spot on her head. A woeful sigh escaped her lips. Well, it wasn't her fault Atem didn't explain what he meant back then. Honestly, it was his entire fault. So why did Rei think that it was her fault.

"Ouch!" whined the blonde princess as the chambermaid once more brushed the sore spot. The girl quickly apologized. It wasn't her fault really. So why did Rei have to hit her with the book. And to make matter worse, she had to _apologize _to Atem. Otherwise Rei would send her to the fiery depths of hell. At least that's what she promised. Serenity sighed once more.

"Stop doing that," said a strict voice. The chambermaids quickly bowed to the woman who entered the princess' room. Serenity pouted. Trust Rei to tattletale to Luna about it. Luna was a native from Planet Mau, a planet of cat-like people, who could turn into cats. She had long wavy, purple hair, with two buns styled on each side of her head. Her dress was yellow and black, the top brocade part of the dress being yellow, with layers of black chiffon beneath it. A black bow was on her back. Luna nodded to the chambermaids, who quickly exited the room. They were no strangers to the bad-tempered Luna, when she decided the Crown Princess needed some lecturing.

"I've heard about your misstep from Rei," said Luna slowly. Serenity groaned.

"Stop doing that!" snapped Luna, as Serenity cowered from her fear.

"You are to apologize to Prince Atem! He could be very well your intended!" said the Mau-jin crossing her arms, her blue eyes narrowed as they zeroed in on the princess. The blonde in question sighed.

"Will you stop doing that? It's not as if you are doing a chore!"

"But it is one," replied the princess.

Luna hissed. "You're the one at fault," she pointed out.

"No."

"What?"

"It's not my fault. It's Atem's fault, he should've explained," stubbornly said Serenity. And if she didn't know Luna any better, she would bet that the older woman would start pulling at her hair.

Luna finally managed to reign herself. "Stop being to obstinate! Atem was the one who _tried _to explain. But you! You were the one, who ran off after accusing him of being a libertine!" The advisor was barely holding herself back.

"I called him a pervert."

"Serenity!"

* * *

Rei's eyes snapped wide open. It was _that _vision again. Tears were streaming down her face. Again she saw _that future. _It was a fact that whenever the visions were reoccurring, that each time they were only reinforced by the actions that were taken by people within it.

"Why! Why!" The young princess punched the ground.

She could feel her tears trickling down onto her hands. "Why must it all end this way? Is there really nothing else to do?" she whispered desperately.

"Sailor Mars, is something wrong?" Her head shot up. The brunette from Kemet was standing in front of her, her face set in a worried frown. The details of the vision flashed again and the black-haired Soldier fought back her tears.

"Anzu…" Before her eyes she could still see the blood-stained corpse. Her hair was messed up and the pink Soldier outfit was coloured red. Those lively blue eyes were blank and lifeless. Rei shook her head. "No, everything is alright." She stood up dusting off her Soldier uniform. She had to get ready for leaving to her home planet.

"Was it another vision?" asked Anzu.

Rei turned around. "Huh?"

Anzu shifted nervously from one foot to another. "I've been hearing that you are having these visions. Of the future."

The Soldier of Fire frowned. "Who told you that…"

"Just rumours." Anzu looked down.

Visions of the future. She surely hoped they were just nightmares. "Well, you're wrong!" Anzu jumped in fright at her sudden outburst. Rei turned around and started walking away. For a second she felt bad for shouting at the innocent Soldier, but then she remembered the dreams. She couldn't tell her the future. But she could give a warning.

She stopped and turned around. "And, Lady Anzu, I would advise you to give up on your obsession with the Prince. It will not do you any good." Immediately the brunette flushed bright red with anger.

"How dare you!"

But what did it matter, if her warnings only reinforced the vision. Even without looking into Anzu's future, Rei knew, the girl wouldn't give up. And before the brunette could bite back she left. She had no time to waste. And her loyalties lie only to the Princess and the Prince.

* * *

Serenity sighed. So here she was. Why, did she have to do this? It was so unfair. The princess nervously shifted from one foot to another. So far, her luck was good. They had already departed via one of the spaceships towards Mars, but the boarding of them all had taken at different times. And what made matters worse, Malik was somewhere with Atem. Well, not _somewhere, _they were training. But how could she face Atem. Her face flushed once more. But she had to. So here she was, standing outside the training room.

_How embarrassing…_

"Princess Serenity." Serenity jumped as the familiar low voice sounded behind her. The twisted around and came face to face with a very-very tempting Atem. Who was without the top part of his robe, the tanned muscles glistening with sweat. The kohl eyeliner around his eyes slightly smudged. Her eyes widened as she took in the striking vision he presented, as the princess suddenly felt very light-headed.

"How nice to see you finally," he noted, sarcasm literally dripping from his words. The shy blonde ducked her head, refusing to meet his gaze, intently studying his chest. Mind you, he wasn't muscled as some men were, like for example the Saiya-jin in the faraway West Quadrant of the Galaxy, but still he was built very nicely, and the tan skin only deepened the effect. Flushing furiously at these thoughts she decided to look at his arms instead. There was blood flowing down his biceps.

"You have blood on your hand," murmured Serenity still refusing to meet his gaze, intently staring at the line of blood. It was the same red as his eyes. At first she though his eyes were like rubies, but now she knew better. They were the colour of blood.

"High Priest Malik is a very skilled swordsman," he replied calmly. Instinctively Serenity reached out towards him, the prince slightly startled, as she touched his arm and closed her eyes. A soft glow surrounded her hand, spreading out to the deep gash on his muscle, the magic of the Lunarian princess mending the severed tissues. The glow died down, and Atem oohed in surprise, as he extended his hand and flexed it back and forth. The muscle was as good as new.

Suddenly, Serenity, felt one of her hair streamers being caught. Atem brought it to his face, and took a long whiff.

"W-what are you d-doing?" stuttered Princess Serenity, as she whipped her head up gaping at his unexpected course of action. The red-eyed young man gave her a flirtatious smirk.

"Well, I'm being a pervert, Serenity." Her name was rolled off his tongue in a lurid way. Serenity flushed in anger, but then remembered herself and lowering her gaze to the ground quietly whispered: "I'm sorry for accusing you, Prince Atem," she murmured.

"I now see the error of my ways and beg for your forgiveness, for it was horribly rude of me to insult you." His sandals were very interesting, or at least she behaved that way.

"Well, as long as next time you will let me explain, in case you have some sort of misunderstanding, then I suppose I can forgive you," Atem drawled. Serenity glanced up: the red-eyed youth was smiling. Serenity smiled.

"Will you do the same?" she asked tentatively.

"I promise," purred the Kemetian prince softly.

"Then, I promise too," cheered the princess, pounced one the prince, hugging him dearly. The pair went blundering to the floor. Atem puffed as he fell. And she was scared. Well, maybe because Atem was so imposing and looked so serious. But he was really just a _creampuff_. The petite girl giggled.

"Something hilarious going on?" asked a rich, tempered voice behind them. The two looked up, only to see High Priest Malik, who was garbed in simply battle chinos that were tucked into Hessian boots. He too had a bare chest. And at the moment with a rather displeased look he was watching them.

"Malik, get dressed!" exclaimed Serenity.

"So, I get 'Get dressed!' and Atem gets a hug," his eyes trailed over their forms, "or even something more."

"W-what!" exclaimed Serenity indignantly, as she turned to look at Atem, and her mind realized their position. She was on top of Atem, her knees hitching up his kilt, gratuitously revealing lots of golden tanned skin, her hands were on both of his sides, and she was _touching _his _skin! _And his hands were dangerously close to her _butt!_

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Serenity ran away.

"Atem! Another duel!" growled Malik stomping angrily into the training area. Prince Atem was left alone in the hallway before the entrance to the training arena, blinking confusedly. Confused at Serenity's quick flight, Malik's flip in behaviour (the priest had behaved quite cordially before it). His hand was still warm. Pity that Serenity escaped, her backside was rather pleasant.

The young prince barely held back a scream of frustration. What was he thinking about? Flushed the prince jumped up and stormed back into the arena, eager to take on Malik's challenge for sake of holding his sanity.

* * *

Bakura observed the hustling people of the white palace with disgust. All of them were so pathetic. They lived in their own little fairy tale when other people paid with their blood for their success. How he despised these creatures. The lingering pressure in the back of his head alerted him that the Dark One had returned.

'So what do you think?' mentally asked the thief.

'_That child, she has a deep darkness within her…'_

His mind strayed towards the violet-clad princess he had wooed during the ball. Their feelings had been proved. She was a dark one, just as the Dark One suspected. But it was not due to her having an evil side…

'She_ is_ the Soldier of Destruction,' he replied sarcastically.

'_No, something else. Something more vile and ancient. Something that can be used to our advantage.'_

This caught his interest. 'Something ancient?'

'_Yes. I can feel it. We must wait for the right time and awaken that which sleeps within her.'_

So, back to plan A. Get a Sailor Soldier on their side. 'So, I need to get into her trust.'

'_Yes… do it. And then you shall have your revenge.'_

Bakura smirked. The pharaoh and his entourage were leaving along with that white princess, which would mean that for a few days until they travelled around the planets, he would have a lot of time to get into her trust.

* * *

For the millionth time High Priest Malik began his meditation anew. The lavender-eyed priest groaned in frustration. _That _image was burned into his mind. They way Serenity turned around from her very _compromising _position. Her face flushed, cheeks holding a pink glow, lips so inviting. He barely bit back another groan. He had to get his mind off _that _image. The way her dress was slightly hitched up, her back arched.

But what bothered him the most was not the way Serenity looked. It was the fact, that she was on top of that Terran! That _despicable _prince's hands were touching her butt! How in Ares's name did that happen? And she looked pretty comfortable, her arms wrapped around his neck.

"Something bothering you, brother?" He didn't have to turn around to know who it was. It was Rei. She walked into the mediation room, her hair swaying behind her, as she gracefully sat down on a map beside him, in front of the Great Fire, and closed her eyes. Well, it would do well to follow her lead. The blonde prince closed his eyes, as he sat still beside her. But his thoughts still wandered back to that picture.

"Something wrong?" her voice was low and smoky, she was close to entering that meditative state.

"Atem," replied Malik.

"Can't take competition?" she asked. His eyes snapped open as he glared angrily at the girl.

"He's no competition."

Rei's eyes opened, as she looked at him with a satisfied smirk. "Someone is jealous," she sung.

Malik growled, as he fought to contain his rage. He was the High Priest. He was the High Priest. He had to act it. "This is a holy place, Rei, we should be meditating, not arguing," grind out the blond.

"And you're doing very well, concentrating on that picture of Atem and Serenity," replied the black-haired femme fatale. Malik stared dumfounded at his fiery sister. How did she know about it?

"Imagine that when I dined with Serenity, she told me that she knocked Atem over, ended up _sprawled very provocatively _over him and you walked in on them. I knew where to find you." She looked way too smug. Way too smug. Malik clenched his fist and decided that meditating today was really useless. He stood up and with a swish of his robes walked out.

Not quickly enough though, he heard Rei start laughing mirthfully. How bothersome.

* * *

The technology of the Silver Alliance was something of great interest. Sailor Mercury had been describing various objects of interest he would see at the planets, so he was looking towards this Grand Tour about the alliance. The Moon Kingdom also had something, which he really felt fascinated with. The kingdom itself existed within a dome, which produced an artificial climate and had an advanced computer called the 'Eternity Main System'. Compared to technology on Earth it felt really outlandish, almost like in a fairy tale up here.

Atem stretched his fingers, as he inspected one of the weapons he wanted to bring back to Kemet. The device was a golden, forearm-length glove which was fitter for his left hands. His fingers were covered with golden tips, knuckles covered by clawed guards, on the palm from the fingertips to the centre ran wires connecting to a red gem in the centre of the palm.

"So how does it work?" he asked.

Serenity tilted her head to the side. "Well, it is supposed to be controlled by a neural interface." The princess was sitting on top a ledge, dangling her legs back and forth.

"Will you demonstrate?" asked Atem.

"Try it yourself," she replied waving in the general direction of a practice dummy. "_Kara kesh **(1)**_is a very simple weapon. We've retrieved this technology from the remains of the some races which inhabited the Milky Way Galaxy long before out time. Try thinking of sending an energy wave at the dummy."

Atem nodded, extending his hand. Narrowing his eyes he imagined it happening, and then he felt it, from the palm came out a force blast, which knocked the heavy dummy backwards several feet.

"Woah," breathed out the young prince. "It would be useful for the generals and officers in the army to have such weapons," he said. Serenity nodded.

"The foot soldiers in the Sylvan army usually have Ma'Tok staffs, you'll see more of our weaponry when we get to Mars. We'll be arriving soon, and just in time for their annual War Games."

Atem looked back at the blonde princess. "War Games?"

"Training for the most elite of the Sylvan Army."

* * *

Lady Mai, as well as Lady Anzu had stayed behind on the Moon, unlike Lady Mana and Lady Kisara who had travelled alongside with Prince Atem, Prince Malik, Princess Serenity and Princess Rei to Mars. So here she was, leisuring in the gardens, relaxing her body and her mind, when _he _came.

Mai's violet eyes darted to the cheerful blonde general, who from afar already yelled his greeting to her, as he waved.

"General Jou, what do I owe this visit?" she asked flatly. Of course. There could be only one person to disturb her rest. Only him. Only him.

The general fell to one knee, as he dramatically placed his hand on his heart. "Need I to have a reason to visit you, beautiful Lady Mai."

Mai rolled her eyes. "Not again."

Jou laughed merrily as he stood up. He fondly looked at her, and then as if something clicked in his head, his face turned serious. "But actually I do have a reason. Have you seen Princess Ami?"

Mai felt a tick forming. So the blond idiot wanted to flirt with the Princess of Mercury and _that is why _he disturbed her rest? At least she could forgive him if he came to bother her because of _herself. _"What do you need her for?" asked the blonde Harpy Soldier a bit more forcefully than she would have liked.

The blond menace blinked. Then he grinned in that ever-annoying fashion. "Is that jealousy I hear?" he drawled.

Mai gripped her hands together. "General Jou…" Wham! The green-eyed male was lying on the ground, a visible bump on his head. Yet much to her chagrin he immediately sat up.

"Joking, joking, sheesh, Mai, you can't take a joke?" he laughed.

Finally after calming down he continued his previous line of thoughts. "Anyways, there is a strange fluctuation of energy that General Otogi noticed and we want it investigated," he spoke.

Mai frowned at the mention of a flux. "I think I last saw her heading towards the library, with that Prince of Nemesis," she replied.

Jou blinked owlishly. "Diamond? Never thought she likes them white-haired."

Mai shook her head. Ami was with that other prince whose name she failed to remember. "No, the other one, the more soft-spoken one."

The blond male brightened. "Oh! Sapphire."

"Yes, that one."

The general grinned. "Well, I suppose they match."

Mai glared at Jou. He was so aggravating sometimes. "General, why is it that you always think that whenever someone is just accompanying someone they must have ulterior motives?"

He chuckled sheepishly. "Because, it's obvious they should hit off!"

"And you know how?" Mai raised an eyebrow staring at him expectantly.

He gave her a charming smile, "Easy, beautiful Lady Mai, because I took time and got to know Prince Sapphire. Plus, the two were having a very intelligent –"

"You mean confusing for you?" she deadpanned.

Jou laughed stupidly and continued: "That too. But anyways, they hit off very nicely at the ball." She wanted to say more, but stopped himself. "But I must run now. That flux is a very urgent matter."

"How urgent?" Mai looked up warily. Was there another war coming up?

Jou nodded grimly": "We are thinking of dispatching troops into problematic zones."

The blonde Shadow Soldier gasped in shock. "That bad?"

The general frowned. "I guess so. Last time we saw something like that, the energy outputs I mean, was when that queen from the dark side of the moon started a war against us."

Mai paled at his words. "Nehelenia… that war…" That horrible war which took so many lives, left them to rebuild most of the capital, so many died, so much was lost. She too lost her father in the siege.

"I must run now. See you."

"See you too I guess," she murmured absently turning away.

"By the way –" Mai looked back at Jou.

"Yes?"

"That dress really suits you." The sudden compliment startled Mai. Before she could even reply scathingly Jou had already run off, laughing like an idiot. The maiden loked own at the bright violet brocade dress, with elegant stitch-work and blushed.

"You're such an idiot…" she whispered, gripping the skirt of her dress.

* * *

And Serenity didn't lie about the trainings. Upon their arrival to Mars, they were whisked away by Princess Rei-Isis and Prince Malik to the capital of the planet, where he saw all kinds of warriors. The speedy Uranians competed with the warmongering Martians, and the strong Jovians eagerly joined they're matches. And through all that battle, there was one thing that Atem had noticed the most. It was Serenity.

She was standing away from the battle, not even allowed to walk amongst them as they placed her upon a pedestal of purity and hope, the peace-loving princess, who could never fight against anyone else. But he could see that drop of Saturnine blood, as she sat upon her throne next to High Priest Malik, her lips pursed, as she restrained herself, her eyes drifting from one warrior to another as she intently watched them move, as if desperately trying to learn that all on her own.

"_Cute…" _he whispered the words, and instantly caught himself. He was the Crown Prince of Kemet - he shouldn't be so… _fawning _over her. Their eyes met for a moment. And for a second he even forgot that he was in the midst of the war trainings, absently sidestepping the sparring soldiers, reflecting their blows, as he started taking intentionally slow steps towards her.

Her cheeks were tinged bright red. Her eyes a conflicted storm of blues and greys. How strange… he wasn't used to people whose eyes were he mirrors of their souls. Such an innocent noble soul. How he…

His senses were suddenly on high alert, as he felt a quickly approaching danger. And only years of training to deal with the powers of darkness allowed him to recoil, avoiding the sword that was aimed for his rather _delicate _body parts. Atem glared up at the one who dared to attack him and came face to face with the lavender-eyed prince of Mars.

"A spar?" he asked haughtily.

* * *

Duchess Miriam sped through the halls in stiff strides. Where was her daughter anyways? Didn't she know today the council would be gathering to discuss new laws with the queen, and they had to have had finished their lessons by that time. And much to her chagrin the girl wasn't there yet. Her face set into a tight frown the duchess flung open the doors to her daughter's room. It was dim and the curtains were still closed. She was still sleeping!

The silver-haired girl in the bed stirred, as she sat up groggily rubbing her eyes. "Shizukesa, why are you still not up and your hair is not done yet?" inquired Miriam angrily. Immediately the girl straightened, as she politely nodded.

"Mother, good morning."

Miriam frowned. "Not such a good morning. I thought I have taught you better. Aren't you supposed to be up and at your lessons already?"

"But, mother –"

Miriam glared at her daughter, interrupting whatever she wanted to say. "No buts! How are we supposed to regain the power which rightfully belongs to us, if you can't impress the council?"

Shizukesa obediently got out of bed. Miriam immediately flew over to her, sat her down and started brushing forcefully her hair. "Honestly, I thought you would have known by now that you must always be perfect, so that the despicable girl wouldn't get the throne!" she chided.

"I know mother. But you're pulling my hair," Shizukesa replied.

Miriam gave the wavy hair another tug impatiently trying to straighten out all the knots. "Shush, my child. A little suffering on the way to power never hurt anyone."

"That despicable girl is away with that other child of the darkness, so it would do good if we act while she is not here," spoke Miriam hastily putting up her daughter's hair into twin buns on each side of the head letting the rest flow down freely. The duchess smiled to herself. Her daughter was so much better than that despicable saturnine half-breed.

Shizukesa turned to face her. "And how are we supposed to make her look bad if she isn't even here?" One of her eyebrows was raised.

"Quite simple. You just have to be the perfect princess material. Selene knows that girl will never amount to anything."

* * *

She was the eternal one. She would be the one that wouldn't die when everything else would fail. When her current queen would, when her next queen would die, she would still be alive. And front her eternal post at the Time Gates, where she could exist anywhere and nowhere at the same time, she would follow her queen to the past. And there she would die for the first time. The tall green-haired woman clenched her fists as she stared at her reflection. If only… if only… if only she was allowed to change the course of time. But that was meant to happen. It _had _to happen, so that they would arrive at _that _point, awaken for the first time the Power Guardians of their planets, win the Sailor War and make sure that their present time came to exist.

But it was really cruel. Why was she the _only one _to know about what was meant to happen? Well, there was Diamond and Sapphire. But… what would they really know. They already met them. Which meant that no matter what she did, they would still end up _there. _Or more exactly they would still end up _then. _Destiny was so cruel. And she would have to say farewell… to everyone…

"Setsuna? Are you coming also?" The quiet guardian of time whirled around, hastily wiping her tears. The princess, her future queen, the one who would still prove so many times that she was the one worthy of the title of the one eternal star. It wouldn't do well to worry her. She still had some time left to be a child. So why not… _everything _would change _soon._

"Of course." Setsuna smiled easing the worries of the golden-haired child. Soon enough her hair would be bleached to silver and she would be forced onto a path of war. This was why she would not tell the queen about the little pact between Atem and her.

_May this fleeting moment last forever…_

The dinner was calm, except a few jabs from Malik towards Atem. The green-haired Queen of Pluto sat still at the dinner, watching the Martian royalty bicker with the Prince of Kemet.

* * *

Much to his luck, the Soldier of Destruction was alone again. She was standing in the gardens observing the sphere of Earth looming above them.

"Why are you alone again?" Her head whipped around, eyes narrowed. But as she saw him, her face relaxed. Good for him.

"Does it matter?" she asked, as Bakura sat down beside him.

"It does." Her eyebrows shot up, as she glanced at him.

Hotaru shook her head. "It's nothing serious." It was time to strike the weak spot.

Bakura smirked. "Then why does it seems as if everyone besides the generals and the Sailor Soldiers are avoiding you like a plague." The question was left hanging in a pregnant silence.

Finally the girl barely restraining a growl replied. "You're treading on a thin rope here, Ra."

"Am I?" he laughed.

"You are."

"Yet somehow I feel as if you are enjoying my company."

The white-haired thief leaned in closer to the princess, "Why do you presume so?" he whispered huskily. Immediately the girl flushed red, either in embarrassment or anger. "I am the only one not afraid of you," he assured her.

"You're wrong. There are others," she bit back. Ooh, the kitty had claws.

One of his eyebrows rose. "Really?"

"Yes!" exclaimed Hotaru.

"Very well… yet the others except the Sailor Soldiers fear you, as if you are chaos and evil personified," he said. Immediately the words gained a reaction as her shoulders slumped and she stared down at the grass in anger.

"I might as well be, for all they care," she murmured.

"That's wrong." Hotaru glanced at him sceptically.

"I am the child of Saturn, the future Queen of Destruction, the future leader of the armies," she noted with a flat tone. How perfect, she had issues about that. Now, if only he could exploit it. He had to tread carefully.

"How interesting. You shall be a stigma, while your sister basks in glory…"

Immediately at his words, Hotaru interrupted vehemently. "She doesn't."

"Hm?"

The violet eyes glanced up at the blue-green sphere, for a moment she struggled with the words and finally the girl spoke. "She's just as sad. Somehow… I feel as if it a destiny of a Sailor Soldier to be sad."

Bakura scoffed. Her sister was a bubbly, carefree, naïve princess. Even if potentially she cold hold much power, she was way too innocent for that. And way too innocent for him to use in his revenge against the pharaoh. "She is not a Sailor Soldier. What does she know of war and suffering?"

Hotaru sighed. "But for how long?"

"What do you mean? I heard there has never been a Sailor Soldier of the Moon."

Hotaru stood up, not even glancing at him. "Yet, why does she have the shine of a Sailor Soldier?" she whispered. And then the violet-eyed Soldier of Destruction left him alone to contemplate upon these thoughts.

"The shine of a Sailor Soldier?" murmured Bakura, as he felt the dark demon god stir angrily at the mention of the Soldier of the Moon. It felt as if things were going to become much more interesting. For at the eve of Sailor Moon's awakening war and pain would come.

* * *

Once more the young Kemetian prince found himself being dragged by the golden-haired Moon Princess. Only this time they weren't sneaking out.

"Where are we going?" huffed Atem out, as they rounded another corner. The PhobosDeimos castle was huge. The walls made of purple stone, the halls lit by red crystals that dimly enveloped their pathways in a reddish smoke.

"We are going to see Queen Kasei," replied Serenity, as they made to a pair of golden doors engraved with phoenixes and dragons bathed in fire.

"The queen of Mars?" Atem blinked. Was it appropriate? They weren't summoned by the queen, so was it really alright for them to barge in on her private time?

"Yes, Rei's mother. She is a fabled seer within our alliance," explained Serenity, as she pushed open the twin doors, with some difficulty. Atem idly noted that there were no guards in this part of the castle.

"I'm sure Rei will someday become just as great," he said.

"If not greater." And Atem felt himself agreeing with Serenity. Rei, or Isis, as he more often called her, was already without the Tauk a formidable seer: her senses were extraordinary and with the Tauk she only got better with each day as it opened new possibilities for her.

They were going through a long hallway at the end of which a bright fire burned and a figure was kneeling in front of it.

"So, why are we going there?" the prince asked uneasily.

"I want to have my future foreseen," replied the moonchild.

"Is it really necessary?"

"Yes."

They stopped a few feet away from the pedestal on which the red clad tall figure was kneeling. "Queen Kasei, I greet you humbly," spoke Serenity as she curtsied.

Without turning to face them, the woman replied. Her voice was smoky and intangible. "Hello, Princess. I've been expecting you and Prince Atem."

"Does this mean you'll foresee something?" Serenity exclaimed, clapping her hands together. The woman stood up and turned around. Atem had never seen Queen Kasei before, but now he knew from whom Malik and Isis got their bright violet eyes from. She was stunning, had long black hair, that seemed to fade into red at the bottom. Her eyes shifted from her to him, and for a second he felt uneasy. It was as if she saw his past, his present and future at the same time.

"I'll just warn you. Try to keep your promise. Never give in to your sadness and grief or else you'll end up going back on your word. Both of you." Her words fell onto them, weighing heavily. But… But that was preposterous, he never broke his word!

"I would never do that! I always keep my word," denied her warning Serenity.

"Yet in dire circumstances, dire decisions come to mind," spoke cryptically the Queen of Mars. Her eyes closed, as she turned back to the fire, signalling the two young heirs to leave.

As she finally heard the doors close as they left her sanctum her eyes opened, as she stared at the fire. "Remember my warning, future rulers," she murmured. Her gaze softened, becoming melancholic, sad…

"How sad is the fate…"

* * *

**End Chapter 3**

* * *

**_Chapter Notes_**

(1) – Kara Kesh, a weapon from the Star Gate realm. Most weapons of the goa'uld shall be referenced to in this story, as they fit in the design to the story. The goa'uld are long since extinct in this story, and this was the only mention of them.

**_24/05/2011_**_ – So, here you go. There is a darkness rising, Serenity has the Shine of a Sailor Senshi, which brings us closer to her awakening, Atem and Serenity got a cryptic warning from Queen Kasei. Oh, yeah, my deviantart account has a hilarious comic-like picture about the moment where Serenity glomped Atem and they both fell, as Malik came in on that._

**_EDIT: 02.07.2013 – _**_Changed mentions of Senshi to Soldiers, corrected some grammar mistakes_

* * *

**If you liked this story, please review. It is really painful to write decent chapters, while rewriting the laws and rules of both respective universes to make them plausible and suitable.**

**So, motivate the author. 10 reviews per chapter is the minimum I demand. Nothing excuses you from not reviewing my stories if you like them. –laughs maniacally and disappears into darkness-**

**Review, please.**

**Cheers**

**Yami Nocturna**


	5. 4: The First Attack

**_28/05/2013 – _**_It has been over a year, but now that Acheron series has been throughoutly planned, I can continue writing it. Originally I intended this chapter to be longer, but with many things happening, I didn't want to overload you and myself, so here you go, enjoy._

* * *

**Thanks to all those who reviewed this story**:**meera huang, Evangeline11, guest, bur bur, chibi moon baby, SailorVmoon138115, Spirit of the Dead, kris bachlin, Sesshy's Mistress, angel313, Cosmic-lover, El3v3n **(where di you disappear off to?)

* * *

**Names and ages:**  
Duke **Ryuu** of Enceladus, Saturn Kingdom (Duke Devlin), Dragon General - 19  
Duke **Jou** of Callisto, Jupiter Kingdom (Joey Wheeler), Lion General - 20  
Lady **Anzu** (Anhurit) of Kemet, Sailor Sennyo (Forgiving Maiden) (Tea Gardner) - 17  
Earl **Hiro** of Oberon, Uranus Kingdom (Tristan Taylor), Gryphon General - 20  
Marquise **Mai Valentine** of Nyx Mons, Venus Kingdom, Sailor Tori (Harpie Lady) (Mai Valentine) – 21  
Lady **Kisara** of Atlas City, Moon Kingdom, Sailor Hakuryuu (Blue Eyes White Dragon) – 18  
Lady **Mana** of Kemet, Sailor Mahoutsukai (Dark Magician Girl) – 16  
Priest **Seth** – 19  
Magician **Mahaad** of Kemet - 21  
Princess **Serenity**, Princess **Hotaru** – 14 (almost 15)  
Princess **Rei-Isis**, Princess **Minako**, Princess **Ami**, Princess **Makoto** – 16  
Prince **Atem** – 16  
Thief **Bakura** – 17  
Princess **Michiru**, Princess **Haruka** – 18  
Queen **Setsuna** – 25  
Priest **Shada** - 24  
Queen **Selenity**, Duchess **Miriam** of Mare Nubium - unknown  
Prince **Diamond** – 21  
Prince **Sapphire** – 19  
Prince **Endymion** – 19  
Lady **Shizukesa**, Countess of Arzachel - 16

* * *

**A.c.h.e.r.o.n : O.r.i.g.i.n.i.s**

**Part I: Innocence**

**Chapter 4**

* * *

_Long ago most of Milky Way Galaxy was governed by the vikarna(1). Vikarna was a galactic race that advocated the symbiosis with the planets that they lived upon and colonized, so eventually the planets would choose them as guardians. Not one race remembers how the vikarna came to be, some speak of the gods creating them in their image to protect the galaxy, some speak of a much older race that had been their ancestors. The advancement of the vikarna race through the universe was the reason Stargates were widely spread across the known universe. The most noted empire of all times in the history of the vikarna race was the Sylvan Empire, that governed over the Norma Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy, spreading peace and prosperity wherever they went. Some even called them the true heirs of the proto-race that defined all vikarna races. But nothing lasts forever, and the star system in which the Sylvan Empire was headed was destroyed when a collision with a dwarf galaxy occurred in the Norma Arm. Heavy-hearted the Sylvan Empire announced it's disbandment, providing complete authority to the rulers of the planets they once governed under a common council and the original royal families from the destroyed star system went off to travel the galaxy in search of a new home._

_They found it here, next to a small star called the Sun, by the only local vikarna, still separated from galactic highways and politics, vikarna that lived on planet Earth, Gaia, Terra. It was said that the last queen of the Sylvan empire was called out by the small satellite that circled the planet, and there she met the Guardian Cosmos, who handed her the heirloom of all her descendants from then on: the Illusionary Silver Crystal. Thus began the way to a new era in the galaxy, the era of the Silver Millennium._

* * *

Under the cover of the red night on planet Mars, the crown princess of the Silver Millennium snuck out from her bedchambers. Had she been on the Moon, her plan would possibly be doomed to failure, as any deviation from the tradition instilled through generations of previous royalties would be scorned upon by the council. But this was Mars; if on the Moon a lunarian training in the late hours of the night would be something out of usual, then on Mars the ferocious warriors could be training at any hour, especially if they were to overcome their rivals and learn new techniques in secret. Of course maybe it was stupid, but she needed to learn how to defend herself, and not just use the Silver Crystal, otherwise if there was ever a siege on the capital, like during the war with Nehelenia she would just be a sitting duck, and she wouldn't let her sister sacrifice herself to protect her, as her father had done, in order to protect them and her mother. She would be able to face the enemies on her own, and she'd still carry the ideals of peace within her heart.

The soft sound of approaching footsteps for a moment frightened Serenity, and she quickly ducked into an alcove, just as soon as from a side-hallway a pair of guards rounded the corner, passing her by an inch. It would have been quite embarrassing to be caught by the palace guards, in what she was wearing now. The blonde girl nervously glanced down at hr clothes, she had never yet worn such a short attire before.

Last night, Atem sent her this to wear during their training, after having found out, that besides her dresses and robes she had nothing to wear, if she were to fight. Sure, she could understand the comfort of wearing shorter things, but she'd be more happy to wear the wide pants the Martian soldiers wore, because this tunic was just indecent. Nervously Serenity tugged down her skirt and crept out from the alcove. Good, there was no one around. Her only company was silence. And then a hand landed on her shoulder, frightened out of her wits, the moon princess opened her mouth to scream, but a big male hand covered her mouth.

* * *

He had been on his way to their meeting spot, in a distant and quite well hidden training spot that Queen Kasei had suggested he use for his personal training. Atem had not even for a second doubted that the Queen knew what he and Serenity were up to and he supposed if the great prophetess of the Silver Millennium approved of it, he could proceed, without fear of ruining the politics between the Moon and Egypt.

It was then that he saw her wearing the shendyt(2) and tunic he had provided. In the dim glow of the Phobus and Deimos, she looked mesmerizing. Her long hair, was braided and fell down to her knees, like a thick rope made of solid gold, the skirt of her attire only accentuating her long pale legs, skin the colours of moonlight looked too silky to even touch with his fingers. His breath still caught in his throat, the prince stepped forwards and laid a hand on her shoulder, immediately pulling her close, hand over her mouth, when she startled and now her small lithe body was pressed against his and again the prince had to remind himself, that _this _was the crown princess moon, _possibly _his future wife, but just possibly, and it was absolutely inappropriate to be having these thoughts about her now, when he had just learned that the age of courting started at 16 in this kingdom. And she was only 14, even for a stolen kiss he could be banished from the kingdom.

"Hush, princess, it's only me," he whispered into her ear, having managed to push the distracting thoughts to the side. Perhaps his father had been right and he should have learned more about the females back at home, then this vixen wouldn't be tempting him just by being there. Though he had to admit, the outfit was very well fitted to her, his handmaids had done a good job on fitting some of his clothes, to her small frame.

"Atem," whispered Serenity frantically, as he let go of her mouth, "don't scare me like that!" The princess pouted.

"Well, then lesson number one, never let your guard down, my young student," replied the Egyptian prince, flicking her nose. "Shall we proceed? There is a lot I'd love to cover, since you haven't even held a dagger in your hand."

In reply, Serenity nodded excitedly and the pair continued their covert journey to the training ground.

* * *

The first rays of sun hit the castle, when his mother did finally release him to fulfill his duties. Each of their meetings were the same, each time she reminded him of his duties as the High Priest of the Sancto Lumine(3), of his task to guide the citizens spiritually, which meant that for the sake of their kingdom his thoughts should be pristine, elevated high above the needs of any simple mortal man. Which meant, that just as always she was telling him to stop pining after Princess Serenity. The blonde priest snorted at the thought, while it was certainly a tradition that the High Priests of Sancto Lumine took no lover during service to the Kingdom, but there were no concrete rules, about the Priest not being able to wed the person he loved.

_He had almost thrown the bowl with burning coals from the Sacred Fire over, in his fury, when his mother strictly advised him to never think of Serenity again. "So, do you mean, I just have to give up everything that I'm feeling? I have to ignore my heart and live a solitary life!?"_

_His mother, the tall regal Queen of Mars, the All-seeing eye of the Silver Millennium, stood up, turning away from him, her gaze fixated at a distant glowing star, which no doubt was the Moon. Malik had always revered his mother, and it was under her influence that he gave up his right to the throne, to his younger sister: magic and spirit were closer to his heart, than war and glory. A long time ago he considered Kasei, the queen of Mars, the most striking female of the Silver Alliance: midnight black hair with deep hyacinth highlights curled all the way to the ground, falling past bronze shoulders, bright violet eyes, that faded in from lavender, much like his eyes, into a deep purple like Rei's. He had always thought he would find a girl in the future, who would look similar to his mother, but his heart had other plans, for when he met Serenity for the first time in 3 years, after completing his training as the next High Priest of the Moon, at his inauguration to his new position, she was taller, no longer a child, but still not a woman, she was a flower ready to bloom, and from then on, his heart was no longer his to command._

_Every time he thought about the golden-haired princess, meant to be his future ruler, his heart started to race and his treacherous mind supplied more memories, till he usually became lost on his mind. Malik startled, as a warm hand came to rest at his cheek. Queen Kasei was observing him, her eyes a maelstrom of emotions, pitying and understanding at the same time, loving, condescending, motherly, strange…_

"_My son, I do not imply that you need to spend your life as s solitary man, but merely saying that your relationship with Serenity is doomed to failure."_

_It was a known fact that there was one thing in which the Moon royals and Mars royals always took opposing stances, as followers of two major branches of religion on the Silver Millennium: Aedem Sancto Lumine – the Temple of Holy Light had strict beliefs that if you persevered hard enough and did not let the darkness win, you were able to even change destiny. Aedem Ignem Sacrum(4) – the Temple of the Sacred Fire was of the opinion that to each their own destiny and that certain points in your life were non-changeable and meant to happen._

"_You know very well, mother, that I do not agree with that. One can fight against destiny and change it," spoke the young man vehemently, "I will fight for my love. I will win Serenity's heart and soul." The moment their eyes met, a surge of power passed between the two Martians, neither willing to back down, from what they considered the truth._

_His mother let out a heavy breath, her eyes becoming dark: "Serenity's destiny shall always lie with another, even now the future is making itself more certain. Serenity shall marry a man, but that man shall not be you." She turned back to the Sacred Fire leaving Malik to ponder on her words. As a rule, this usually meant only one thing: the Queen of Pluto and the Queen of Mars already decided on the future marriage for their Crown Princess in according with the best timeline for the Silver Millennium, and that meant that Queen Selenity agreed with the proposal as well…_

"_It's Atem?" His mother didn't reply. Sneering Malik turned his gaze away from his mother and back to the Sacred Fire, the fatalism of Mars was no longer something that took hold of him. He refused to be controlled by anything. "I don't believe it. There cannot be just one future. You and Pluto saw just one of the possible futures, you cannot know all outcomes, and it will be our present actions, not your careful planning and our own emotions that will decide the future."_

He was still steaming in fury. Who were the queens to decide, whom Serenity chose? Sure, they had an unfair advantage, by having the opportunity to look through some of the possible futures and make sure the favoured path would occur, by aligning the princess's path, but he didn't need such manipulation tactics: he was the High Priest of Sancto Lumine, and he would win Serenity's heart with his own qualities. After all, he had many years of friendship of advantage over Atem, and he'd be damned if he let the Egyptian prince have her as his wife.

In a way, it was sad that his mother would choose what she thought was destiny, over her son's feelings. But this was the way it was in royal families: politics and greater good always took precedence over one man's dreams. His mind was in a complete disarray, there was no way he could enter the Aedem in this state, perhaps a training was in order first: the furthest training battleground would be a sufficient location.

* * *

The borders of the Silver Millennium were always vehemently guarded by the four Outer Solar System kingdoms: Uranus, Saturn, Neptune and Pluto. As a rule the three Sailor Soldiers that held the talismans were in their castles on watch-out for any interstellar intruders, while their patrol troops would be spread out in the Kuiper belt, the biggest outposts situated on Eris, Makemake, Huamea, Sedna and Orcus, the smallest one, yet the most powerful ones on Nyx and Hydra, the two moons of Pluto. And almost on the edge of the Solar System, was the planet with the darkest rumors about it: Nemesis.

The appearance of the Black Moon clan was something that was a mystery for the whole of Silver Alliance, and since it was a mystery, it left plenty space for speculation and rumor spreading. A hundred years beforehand an exploration squadron from Mercury had discovered traces of life on the planet, and thus immediately scientists accompanied by a battalion of troops were sent to the planet, to make sure that the traces of life, were nothing of the sort that it was on Rhea and Titan, the very first colonies of Saturn, where silicon-based interstellar endoparasitoid creatures reigned hell, until the first Sailor Soldiers of Solar System came down and destroyed the remnants of the infected colonies, along with the hives of those creatures.

But much to the surprise of the Mercurian scientists, the life form that they detected was very similar to them, in fact it was a whole vikarna kingdom encased in quartz, hidden beneath the ground: for months did they continue trying to get any sort of information out, trying to dig into the quartz, draw out a reaction from the slumbering inhabitants of the kingdom, but with no avail. Finally it was suggested that this planet be called the Lost Kingdom of the Vikarna, and be revealed to the public as a historical site, with yet unknown civilization sleeping until one day they awaken. As the Queen of the Moon of that time, grandmother of Princess Serenity, arrived for one last check, before approving of, the Silver Crystal and the quartz encasing the kingdom started resonating, and just like that the quartz disappeared and awakened the kingdom.

That was the Kingdom of Nemesis, ruled over by the Black Moon clan, who bore the inverted symbol of the royal family of the Moon. Sure enough the royal family of the moon gained that birthmark once the first queen of the Moon, Anunit received the Silver Crystal to guard and protect the Solar System; yet no one knew for how long had the Black Moon clan slumbered there. For the next hundred years, Queen Selenity had been in negotiations with the Prince of Nemesis, Diamond, ensuring that the distant kingdom would get imports and support form the Silver Alliance, while trying to convince the council of allowing Nemesis to join the Silver Alliance as well. But the war that took place ten years ago, with the Dead Moon Kingdom from the shadows of the Moon set back the peace talks, as prejudice against another moon clan, which had destroyed many lives took hold of the people in the Silver Alliance, and the relationships were strained. It didn't help that there were whispers on the planet Earth that Nemesis was a place, where a long time ago a demon slumbered, even though the Earth kingdom had no way of knowing what went on outside of the Silver Alliance, due to the only recent induction of two kingdoms into the politics of the Sylvans.

But it was on that planet where the next war would begin.

It was a regular day at the Nyx station, in this time of the year Pluto was passing close to Nemesis, and several of the soldiers were on a shore leave to the small planet, that was widely known for their jewellery and resorts, in the many domes Queen Selenity had funded on the planet, to promote its own sustainability. General Agapito, a tall dark man from planet Pluto, the one in charge of this weekly shift, was slowly making his rounds past the observation stations. The hype from ten years ago, when Queen Nehelenia had held the kingdom's under constant fear of stolen Dream Mirrors had almost passed and the days were mostly spent supporting the scientists, who observed anomalies and star movements.

Most operators were quite relaxed, sipping their drinks, while casually observing the screens of the computers. And then an alarm went off. At first mostly people were confused: they received alarms every now an then, but mainly it was for an incoming meteor (orange alert), an incoming space-ship (blue alert), orbit change of observable objects (violet alert). But the red alert, was something that hadn't gone off in the last ten years.

"All stations battle-ready, detect the source of the anomaly!" Agapito glanced at the woman, who was shouting the orders, it was Agnes, his second in command, she was one of the few who had worked at the Nyx station during the Dead Moon war. For a moment, it was just the blaring sound of the alarm that interrupted the silence, as hundreds of fingers clicked against the keyboards, everyone concentrated on one single task: detect the intruders.

"General, we are detecting a hole in the time-space continuum close to Nemesis," announced Lieutenant Agnes and Agapito slumped down into a chair, was the time of peace over now? "The energy type is confirmed to be of demonic origin, what would be your orders?"

Nemesis – despite the fact that planet was not in the Silver Alliance, they could not stand by idly as an enemy started its way into the Solar System through them, the council would not approve of him sending troops to deal with the anomaly and possible enemies, but he would let their queens deal with the displeasure of those old crones. Right now it was imperative that Nemesis would not fall: after all, he was one of the few who knew why it was vital that Nemesis stay on their side, according to the information he received from his Queen, Nemesis was one planet that could move through time-space freely given that the right circumstances were met.

"To the troops on shore leave at Nemesis send an order to be battle-ready," he said, "Dispatch additional troops to Nemesis, inform Her Majesty Queen Setsuna, inform Prince Diamond of the potentially dangerous situation and send a message to the Moon Capital."

He'd be damned if on his watch an enemy would take over a planet that could very well be their downfall. The council could screw themselves with their prejudice, they only saw the radiant light of the sun and moon from their positions, but the troops of Nyx and Hydra, knew better than to believe the Sancto Lumine purists' propaganda. The temple of light in all the good it did, under the guide of the previous high priest from an influential Moon family had fostered hostility and distrust in the heart of their Alliance, and it was a long way before the new high priest would be able to dispel all the discord sown by his predecessor.

* * *

Early morning had come to the Magellan Castle when Princess Minako was summoned by her mother, Queen Ishtar. The golden haired princess fidgeted in the conference room, she had been told it was a matter of utmost importance, and was ushered out of her room, wearing only her flimsy nightgown and chiffon robes, she threw own just for propriety's sake. Artemis, one of the two last Mau-jin was also here, even though he was usually inseparable from Luna, his wife and partner: the two Mau-jin were advisors to Queen Selenity, and rumours were that they were also excellent spies, Minako herself had no idea: Artemis and Luna took part in the warfare against the Dead Moon clan, and Minako got her responsibilities after the previous Sailor Soldier of Venus, her aunt Ereshkigal(5) gave up the last of her power along with the other three Soldiers of Four Guardian Deities, in order to seal Queen Nehelenia into a world behind the mirror.

The doors opened and Queen Ishtar walked in, her face dark and sombre.

"Did something happen, mother?" enquired Minako worriedly.

The queen of Venus walked quietly to the head of the table, where she sat down folding her hands, dejectedly looking down at them. Finally with a heavy sigh she began speaking.

"It is truly a disaster that in this era the Heirs are all also Sailor Soldiers, and while that makes us no doubt stronger, as the power shall no longer be divided between the Sovereign of the planet and the Protector of the planet, it leaves us in a dire situation should the Heir perish in a battle, while protecting the Alliance."

Minako carefully watched her mother, the beautiful woman, who was heralded the most desired one in all of Silver Alliance, who glowed the same as the metal, they had dominion over, with peach-golden skin and long-braid of the same gold, her eyes a deep amber, this woman did not act like herself this very moment. Queen Ishtar was an exuberant, energetic, loud ruler, not this quiet, somber woman, whose darkness in the eyes made them turn almost brown.

"But, it is not we who choose the Sailor Soldier, but the planet, and the duty of a Sailor Soldier comes first." Queen Ishtar's fists clenched together, as struggled to continue. Finally Ishtar spoke, her voice quiet and strict, "Sailor Venus of the royal house of Venus, my daughter, you are immediately to be dispatched to Nemesis. We are as of now in a war state." Minako gasped in horror. "An anomaly similar to the one during the Dead Moon war has appeared. We estimate the arrival of the yet unknown enemy in five hours. You have one hour to prepare to leave for Nemesis, may Aphrodite watch over you."

The silence that hung in the conference room after these words was so tangible and Princess Minako could swear she'd be able to cut it with the Moon Sword.

* * *

It was past the time Spring Equinox which meant that the trade to Elysion would be soon in full-scale as the perilous way for other Earth Kingdoms besides Egypt, lay through the Arctic ocean, where for half a year it was darkness, and for another half it was day. The land far beyond the north, that Elysion and the Golden Kingdom was in it's truest sense, a thousand years ago, when Atlantis fell the old King, who fought against his son, brought his granddaughter, Princess Chrisanthema to this land as they escaped from the King of Atlantis and the darkness. It was here, in the icy waters of the Arctic Ocean that the refugees of Atlantis met the guardian of this land, Helios. He appeared to them as a glowing white unicorn, with a golden horn, that opened a passage to the hidden land: Elysion. This was the place where they started anew and where all Daeva(6) magic was forbidden, in fear of the past repeating itself. In it's stead the Princess Chrisanthema received the Golden Crystal from Helios. The legend said that when she touched the golden horn a golden crystal separated from it, and the unicorn became a white-clad white-haired priest. He was the guardian of dreams and had slumbered, waiting for the arrival of the family that would protect the Earth.

Elysion, was a country that had sun all year round, it's climate temperate and pleasurable, despite the suffocating cold, just a few feet outside the entrance to the kingdom; known for neutrality the Golden Kingdom of Earth had stayed out of politics for about a thousand years, until it had been reported that Daeva magic had been used again: this time in the Black Land, Kemet. The Chrysanthemum family line had always watched Kemet, the place to which the other refugees from Atlantis had fled. For a thousand years it had seemed that all Daeva magic had been lost, but then, as Kemet waged war with Hittite empire, they awoke the ancient Daeva and afterwards formed an Alliance with the Moon people, in order to be able to harness the powers more efficiently and with less danger.

It was then, that Prince Endymion's mother, Diantha entered the political dance with the queen of the Alliance, Queen Selenity. Originally Queen Diantha intended for her son, Prince Endymion to be wed to Princess Serenity, to cement the alliance, but she was politely refused on the grounds that Princess Serenity's intended had already been decided. Of course Queen Diantha wouldn't back down, she knew that if Princess Serenity's intended had already been decided, it had something to do with the political allegiance Kemet held now towards the Silver Alliance. With each day the Daeva magic grew in power and with each day the horrors of Atlantis could be repeated, and she knew she couldn't trust the Silver Alliance to step in, in case that evil rose again. When the tragedy struck Earth before, the children of the stars didn't raise even one finger to help, but if they were tied to the Golden Kingdom, she would have more leverage.

Thus Queen Diantha demanded a princess to be wed to her son, in order to cement the alliance, and surprisingly it was Queen Ishtar, of the planet of love, who gave in to her demands and presented her daughter, Princess Minako. Needless to say, Princess Minako, who had always been told that she would marry for love, was not thrilled at all and did not agree with her mother upon it, but if it was for the greater good of the Alliance, it was to be done. And so Prince Endymion and Princess Minako had been engaged for over seven years, and hadn't even seen eye to eye even once.

Behind the stonewalls of the castle of the royal family of Elysion, Endymion slumbered, his dreams filled with laughter and the gold of Princess Minako's hair. In his dreams she never argued with him, in his dreams they laughed and danced, enjoyed the sunshine, in his dreams he never put his foot in his mouth, in front of Sailor Venus, in fact in his dreams Sailor Venus did not exist, there was only a need for Minako, who was bright and bubble and didn't need to fight.

But this time, his dreams of her were not as peaceful as usual. She was running away from something dark and horrendous, it's monstrous mass looming over her lithe form; Endymion wanted to shout, 'Transform! Fight!' But dream-Minako was not a Sailor Soldier, dream-Minako was a fragile rose that had no thorns, and dream-Minako perished under the claws of that thing which devoured her limbs and then turned it's eyes onto him, just as he shot up in his bed, covered in cold sweat, breathing heavily.

A cold hand came to rest against his forehead, "Are you alright, my prince?"

Endymion glanced up, it was Lady Beryl, a beautiful noble lady, his mother's handmaiden was sitting on the edge of his bed, her blue-eyes worriedly observing him.

"Lady Beryl…" he managed to choke out, immediately a glass of cold water was next to his lips.

"There, there, Prince Endymion, you must have caught something while travelling to those star witches," whispered Beryl, her cold hand feeling quite pleasurable on his forehead. But… Minako… he had to contact her. And what was Beryl doing in his room anyway?

With great effort, Endymion pushed himself out of his bed, he was feeling quite sick, that was strange, he was fine before he got back home, "I'm sorry, I need to make an urgent call," said the black-haired prince, as he nodded to Lady Beryl. The girl was really pretty, but there was something about her, that didn't sit quite right with him.

Her lips pursed in distaste, yet smiling, Lady Beryl stood up quickly curtsying him, "Should I call one of the generals?" she asked. Endymion nodded in reply, avoiding her scorching gaze. It was no secret that Lady Beryl was in love with him, which is why he often found her watching over his sleep, a fact that he would have to remedy soon: Minako would skin him alive, if she found out that a girl slept in her fiancée's room regularly. He never let her in, yet somehow she always made it.

In a way, he suspected his mother, who was of the opinion that he should have as many concubines as possible, in case he ever dies, so that he would have at least an heir. Running a hand through the damp with sweat raven locks, Prince Endymion made a mental note to instruct his personal guard to never let her in.

"My liege?" It was Kunzite whom Beryl brought back.

"I need to make a call to Venus, please summon the magician from the Moon, Ninurta was it? I fear for the life of my fiancée."

Kunzite glanced up sharply.

"Is something wrong, my liege?"

Was something really wrong? Could it have been just a nightmare? But prophetic dreams were common in his family, so he'd better just make sure.

"Perhaps, perhaps not…" murmured Endymion, as he stumbled up, almost loosing his footing. Immediately Lady Beryl left Kunzite's side, to support him.

"My prince, you are still sick, perhaps you should stay in bed," she gently chided, trying to guide him back towards the bed, but Endymion pushed her hands away.

"Lady Beryl," Endymion's voice was authoritative and allowed no disobedience, "Princess Minako my wife-to-be and your future queen, I would be a horrible husband, if I did not check upon her."

Her blue eyes became expressionless and she curtsied again, backing off. "As you wish, milord," her words a mere whisper almost seemed like a threat. But Endymion shook the fleeting thought away, Lady Beryl was loyal as a dog to the Golden Kingdom, she always had the best in mind for their wellbeing.

* * *

Malik had expected the last training ground to be empty, having run there, eager to let out all the frustration with his mother, at the training droids. But in stead of the solitary terrain filled with floating battle-droids, he found the very crux of all his argument with the Queen of Mars. Princess Serenity, who was dressed akin to an Egyptian man, holding a wooden sword, as the prince from Earth instructed her in what could not even be defence anymore. But this wasn't supposed to happen, Princess Serenity was supposed to be the beacon of hope and peace, how could she be one if her hands would get sullied with blood.

A quick glance around, good, no one was awake yet, which meant that no one had seen them yet. Didn't prince Atem know that should the council find out about this, Serenity would be in big trouble, and might even have to abdicate her right to the throne? He had to stop this blasphemy.

Hurriedly the prince of Mars approached the couple, who paid him no attention: Atem whispered something to Serenity, who giggled in return, and swung the sword.

"Good, you're a quick learner, Serenity," Atem laughed. And she was indeed. Just recently when she picked up a sword left behind by Rei in the training room and made a joking swing, pretending to be one of the Great Sailor Soldier, who fought against Chaos, it was childish, held no power and wouldn't probably even scratch an experienced trooper. But now, it had purpose and aim, if he was right, that strike, unless parried would take the head of the enemy.

That was not the way of Serenity.

"It's only thanks to you," replied Serenity, "at least I won't be a hindrance in case something like the Dead Moon attack happens again." The Egyptian prince was awarded a bright smile of gratitude, and something dark stirred within Malik, even though he immediately silenced those emotions. It was unbecoming of the high priest of the moon: he was above petty jealousy.

"My princess," he spoke and immediately the pair jumped, turning round, Serenity's eyes wide in fear. "This is not something that you should be doing," Malik spoke, careful to keep his voice calm and even, "allow me to escort you back to your rooms."

For a second Serenity hesitated, lowering the wooden sword.

"It's alright, you should go," spoke Atem, nudging her towards Malik. Well at least the prince of Egypt wasn't stupid and knew that he was breaking an ancient tradition that ensured the sovereignty of the royal moon family over the Silver Alliance. The blonde girl took unsure step forwards, eyes fixated on the wooden sword she held in her hand.

Her eyes shot up, straight at him. "No, I won't." Her words firm and commanding, "And you shall not tell anyone that I am training to be able to protect myself," she couldn't ask this of him. She couldn't. Not like this.

"You cannot train, princess, I understand that you do not want to be vulnerable, but that's why you have protectors," replied Malik.

Serenity started walking towards him, her eyes determined: it was an expression that really suited her: he had never yet even once seen such a strong look upon her face. "So, you think I should be content with the idea that one day my sister might have to sacrifice herself like my father did?" The wooden sword was pointed to his neck now. His princess was growing up.

"It is a tradition, that ensures your dominion," Malik softly explained. He had to try, even though he knew he lost this battle already.

"It is the Illusionary Silver Crystal that chooses the ruler of the Moon, and perhaps it is time to break the tradition, after all, this time all the Sailor Soldiers are the one's next in line to rule the planets, so I should be able to protect myself, if you're my friend, you will understand," her eyes narrowed, "you wouldn't want Rei to die protecting me, just because I couldn't even swing a sword to protect myself."

Malik glanced at Atem, who was silently observing their exchange. He couldn't argue with Serenity in front of this foreigner, she was his future queen, he had to obey her, but disobeying the law of the Moon, yet for him Serenity was the absolute law.

Serenity finally lowered her sword, as her eyes turned to pleading, "I ask you, as my dear friend, to keep this secret for me," the sword was dropped to the ground, as she walked up to him, gabbing both of his hands and pulling them close to her chest, in a gesture of goodwill. Malik's heartbeat accelerated, his cheeks flushing. Her palms were soft, and he could feel the warmness of her body, spreading to his hands through the thin linen of the tunic. Was she doing this on purpose? She had to know he wouldn't be able to deny any of her requests…

Hastily the Martian prince pulled his hands away, turning away, to hide his flaming visage. "Very well, princess," he finally said, "I shall keep your secret." Behind him Serenity gave out a long sigh, "Thank you, Malik," she whispered, and for a second he could feel her body pressing against his back, as she gave him a brief hug.

It was then that Atem spoke, "Princess, perhaps it still would be best if you gave this idea up, Priest Malik easily wandered in on us, and it could be someone else next time."

"But, Atem, I have to be able to stand up for myself," replied Serenity.

"I know, but you are risking your right to the throne," he countered.

"I know…" murmured the blonde princess, "but I can't just do nothing."

Malik sighed. The things he would do for her. He broke already one tradition, well… he let the princess break one tradition, he might as well break one himself, after all, he couldn't be more of a holy man that his princess.

"I shall teach you the spell I use, when I need not to be disturbed." And even if the Holy Light ever damned him, he wouldn't care, because the look of pure gratitude, written on Serenity's face was worth to him more than anything else in the whole universe.

* * *

**End Chapter 4**

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**_Chapter Notes_**

(1) vikarna – borrowed from one of the most epic stories about a Sailor Senshi trial of Eternal Sailor Moon, by…. I credited her in an earlier chapter, vikarna was used to describe humanoid races

(2) – Shendyt - the pleated skirt nobles and pharaohs wore

(3) - Sancto Lumine - Holy Light religion, one of the three major vikarna religions

(4) - Ignem Sanctum - Sacred Fire religion, one of the three major vikarna religions

(5) - Not necessarily the Sailor Soldier has to be the next in line to rule

(6) - Daeva - Shadow Realm monster

**EDIT: 02.07.2013: **changed mentions of Senshi to Soldier, updated chapter notes, corrected some typos

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**If you liked this story, please review. It is really painful to write decent chapters, while rewriting the laws and rules of both respective universes to make them plausible and suitable.**

**So, motivate the author. 10 reviews per chapter is the minimum I demand. Nothing excuses you from not reviewing my stories if you like them. –laughs maniacally and disappears into darkness-**

**Review, please.**

**Cheers**

**Yami Nocturna**


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